The rumours swirling around the severity of Carlos Alcaraz’s wrist injury have intensified in recent days amid claims that his condition is a little more severe than initially feared.
When Alcaraz pulled out of the Barcelona Open in April after ‘feeling something pop’ in his wrist, there were suggestions that his lay-off would be brief.
It wasn’t long before he confirmed he will miss the rest of the clay court season, including the defence of his title at the French Open.
Then it was confirmed he will also miss the grass court season and will not play at Wimbledon, with the initial claims of inflammation around a wrist that remains in a cast appearing to be wide of the mark.
The true extent of Alcaraz’s injury will not be revealed as tennis players are notoriously guarded over fitness issues for fear of giving their opponents an advantage when they return to action.
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Yet the comments of 22-time Grand Slam-winning great Rafael Nadal have intensified the concerns around Alcaraz.
Amid a series of interviews to promote his upcoming Netflix series, Nadal suggested he has spoken to Alcaraz about what he described as his ‘broken’ wrist.
“He has enough experience, he’s no longer a rookie on the tour. He knows things happen,” Nadal told Radio Nacional de Espana.
“It’s obviously a big blow that it happened to him at this time of year. He’s a very complete player who wins everywhere, but where he’s most capable of making a difference, in my opinion, is on clay. It’s tough, but he’s still very young.
“From experience, things that seem like a huge tragedy, when you put them into perspective, look very different.
Nadal went on to add: “I think that, fortunately, it’s an injury that won’t be chronic. He’s made the right decisions, taking into account that he’s very young, has a whole career ahead of him, and is undergoing the necessary treatment.
“It’s something I know well, because I broke the same thing twice as he has now, the problem he has with his wrist.”
The word ‘broken’ should not be taken literally, as there are no suggestions that Alcaraz is dealing with an injury that could derail his career, but it’s clear now that this problem is more acute than initially suggested.
Wrist injuries are always the big fear for tennis players, with former British No 1 Greg Rusedski offering words of advice for the seven-time Grand Slam winner.
“We always miss Carlos, but he’s doing the right thing. Health is your wealth,” declared Rusedski on his podcast.
“He doesn’t want to be like Juan Martin Del Potro, who came back too early, too many wrist injuries, never managed to fulfill his huge potential.
“What a great player we lost there for long periods of time and until he’s ready, Carlos won’t be back.”
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The earliest we are likely to see Alcaraz in action will be on the North American hard courts in August and if he doesn’t return for those events, we will need to brace ourselves for the brutal reality that the sport’s biggest star has an injury that threatens his participation in the rest of this tennis year.
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