MELBOURNE—World number two Rafa Nadal will be sidelined for six to eight weeks by the hip flexor injury he suffered during his second-round loss at the Australian Open, the Spaniard’s team said on Thursday.
Nadal’s title defense ended bitterly on Wednesday as he slumped to a 6–4 6–4 7–5 defeat by Mackenzie McDonald, the latest chapter in a long history of fitness problems at Melbourne Park.
The 36-year-old had an MRI scan on his left leg in Melbourne on Thursday, which revealed a grade 2 injury in the Illiopsoas, the primary hip flexor.
“He will be resting the next days once back in Spain and will start with anti-inflammatory physiotherapy,” his team said in a statement….