After missing nearly a year due to injuries, Rafael Nadal, 37, finally returned this week, winning his first two matches in Brisbane in straight sets.

However, he suffered an injury during Friday's quarterfinal loss to Jordan Thompson.

Although it wasn't in the same spot as his prior chronic problem, Nadal said a scan had revealed a micro tear on a muscle.

Before his first-round victory over Dominic Thiem, the Spaniard had not played a single match in 349 days. While he called the outcome "good news," he said that he was "not ready to compete at the maximum level."

After missing the French Open for the first time in 19 years, he declared in May that 2024 would "probably" be his last year of competition. This suggests he may have already competed in his final Australian Open, which he has won twice.

Even though his most recent injury felt a lot like the one that caused "one of the toughest years" of his remarkable career, it turns out that it is not as serious as he first thought.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal posted on social media, saying, "I have worked very hard this year for this comeback, and as I always mentioned my goal is to be at my best level in three months."

"Despite the sad news for me for not being able to play in front of the amazing Melbourne crowds, this is not very bad news and we all remain positive about the evolution for the season.

"Thanks, everyone for the support and see you soon!" I had the opportunity to play a couple of matches in Australia, which made me extremely happy and optimistic. I wanted to play there.

On January 14, the Australian Open gets underway in Melbourne.

Nadal will now concentrate on getting healthy in time for the French Open, where he is a record 14-time champion, which starts on May 20.

His last Grand Slam match was the 2023 Australian Open, where he lost to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round due to injury struggles.

The former world number one fell to 672nd in the rankings after making his last court appearance before undergoing surgery on his left hip in June.

This Australian Open, which began in 1999, will mark the first time since Roger Federer's retirement in 2022 that neither Rafael Nadal nor Andy Murray will be competing in the men's singles main event.