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Nadal struggled with back issues at the start of this year and
pulled out of Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. He last competed
in August at the Citi Open in Washington.
He announced ahead of the U.S. Open that the injury to his left
foot would rule him out for the rest of the year but said on
Monday he might return at the Dec. 16-18 Mubadala World Tennis
Championship exhibition event.
"My plan is to play Abu Dhabi in December and a tournament
before playing the Australian Open. It is my goal and we are
working hard to make it that way," Nadal said at a sponsor event
in Paris.
"I don't know exactly when I'll be back, but I can say that my
goal is to try to come back to Abu Dhabi in December, and then,
of course, for the start of the new season in January.
"The injury in my foot still needs to get a little better, but
I'm already training almost an hour and a half a day so that's
positive."
World number 12 Dominic Thiem, who has not played since
suffering a wrist injury at the Mallorca Open in June, will also
return to competitive tennis in Abu Dhabi.
Organisers confirmed the 2020 U.S. Open champion's participation
with Casper Ruud, Denis Shapovalov, Emma Raducanu and Tokyo
Olympics singles champion Belinda Bencic also named for the
event.
Nadal will be bidding for a men's record 21st major title at the
Australian Open, which is scheduled to start on Jan. 17.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has said no unvaccinated players
would be permitted to play despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison
telling local media they could compete but only after undergoing
a 14-day quarantine.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru, additional reporting
by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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