Rafael Nadal is planning a farewell season next year before he retiresDates: 28 May-11 June Venue: Roland Garros, ParisCoverage: Live text and radio commentaries of selected matches across BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, the BBC Sport website and appRafael Nadal will be sidelined for another five months after having surgery on the hip injury that has kept him out of action since January.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who turned 37 on Saturday, had an arthroscopic procedure on Friday.
His team said it had gone well and the damaged areas had been cleaned and reinforced, and an old injury was also treated.
The Spaniard has said he plans to retire at the end of the 2024 season.
"Rafa will begin his progressive functional rehabilitation in a few hours and the normal recovery process is estimated at five months," Nadal's representative Benito Perez-Barbadillo said.
Nadal, who is missing the French Open for the first time in 19 years, had been practising in recent weeks but was not fit enough to play competitively at Roland Garros, where he is a record 14-time champion.
When outlining his retirement plans last month, Nadal said he would be aiming to put himself in the best position physically for his farewell season next year, when he wants to say goodbye to the tournaments that have meant the most to him.
Given the latest timeframe around his recovery, it looks unlikely he will return to the tour this season but could be back in time for January's Australian Open, which has has won twice.
