Rafael Nadal says his foot "sometimes bothers him more than he would like", explains why he could not touch a racket for 20 days after RG loss

Rafael Nadal will look to put his disappointing third-round defeat at the Citi Open behind him this week as he launches his bid for a record-extending sixth Canadian Open title in Toronto.

But there are question marks surrounding the Spaniard's fitness considering the foot issues that have bothered him for the past few months. The Mallorcan has had problems with his foot ever since 2005, and the injury seemingly resurfaced during Roland Garros this year.

Nadal was forced to pull out of Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in order to recuperate and he only returned to action last week at the Citi Open. But despite the prolonged rest, Nadal's foot gave him quite a bit of trouble during his second-round match against Jack Sock in Washington.

While his condition improved in his next match against Lloyd Harris, he was still far from his best and suffered an early exit at the tournament.

Speaking to the media ahead of his 2021 National Bank Open campaign, Nadal admitted that his foot injury "bothers" him from time to time. However, he hopes to have a pain-free campaign in Toronto in order to regain his confidence while moving on court.

"It's true that sometimes my foot is bothering me more than what I would like but I need to find the positive feelings with it," Nadal said. "I really need to have a couple weeks with less pain to have the confidence again on my movements, knowing that I will be able to go out and to compete for for a long time with a good chance. That's something that I am looking for in this tournament."

Many felt Nadal's chronic foot problem resurfaced during his titanic semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic at this year's French Open. The Spaniard looked at his best in the first three sets but suffered a noticeable dip in the fourth.

Novak Djokovic after beating Rafael Nadal at the 2021 French Open

When asked to reflect on his "injury", Nadal pointed out that he did not sustain a new problem in Paris but was instead nursing a chronic issue.

Nadal shed some light on his troubles, explaining how the pain comes and goes. He revealed that his foot was "not recovering" following his exploits at Roland Garros and that he had to stay away from tennis for 20 days to allow the joint to heal.

"Honestly, I didn't have an injury after Paris no," Nadal continued. "I just had the problem (on) my foot that I had since 2005 but there is some moments that the situation is worse and some moments that situation is better. After Paris my foot was not recovering. I was having a lot of pain for a couple of weeks so I stayed around 20 days without touching a racket trying to recover."

"I'm not scared to lose" - Rafael Nadal

Lloyd Harris’ten müthiş maç puanı. pic.twitter.com/Vy2Gfd3O5a

— TenisHaberleri (@SadeceTenis) August 6, 2021

In the context of his recent defeat to Lloyd Harris in Washington, the Spaniard was asked how he deals with the fear of losing, especially after an injury layoff.

The World No. 3 explained that after returning from injury he primarily focuses on regaining his touch and competitive edge, but did not find it easy to do that this time around. But Nadal stressed that he does not let setbacks affect his mindset.

"It's always trying to find the routines again on court, trying to be competitive again," Nadal said. "(It is) something that is not coming immediately and especially if you are able to practice at the highest level for such a long time it's a little bit easier, but was not my case."

"So yeah, I mean, I'm not scared to lose," he added. "I know something happened last week, and I lost plenty of times in my career but the main thing is just try to feel that I am improving and then playing better and better."

Welcome back to Toronto, @RafaelNadal. 👋 #NBO21 pic.twitter.com/7xsUZJDb4Q

— Max Gao • 高俊鹏 (@MaxJGao) August 8, 2021