Rafael Nadal is set to make his injury comeback in Qatar in February after the Spaniard was forced to pull out of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Nadal picked up a new hip injury in just his third match back from almost 12 months on the sidelines in Brisbane earlier this month.
That saw the 22-time Grand Slam champion withdraw from the first major tournament of 2024 at Melbourne Park.
Nadal had been hoping to use this season as a farewell to the sport before he hangs up his racket and has spoken openly about retirement several times.
The 37-year-old is set to make a quick return after missing the Australian Open after entering the Qatar Open, which runs from February 19 to February 24.
Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev are also among the big names who are due to play at the ATP 250 event.
Nadal is desperate to build-up fitness and avoid any further setbacks so he is able to compete at the French Open in May – where he has won a record 14 titles.
John McEnroe feels that if Nadal is unable to compete at Roland-Garros, then he will also not play Wimbledon or the US Open.
The King of Clay, who recently caused controversy by becoming an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation, produced wins over Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler this month before picking up his hip injury against Jordan Thompson.
His victory over Thiem was Nadal’s first professional match in a year with his last clash before that coming at the 2023 Australian Open, where he was beaten by Mackenzie McDonald in the second round.
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