Tennis: Nadal Leaves Hospital After “Simple” Operation

Rafael Nadal has been discharged from hospital two days after surgery to remove his appendix in Spain.

The world number three has opted out of the remaining two tournaments of 2014- including the ATP World Tour Finals scheduled to begin on Sunday at the O2 Arena, London, because of the operation.

The 14-time Grand Slam title winner played through appendicitis for much of October, taking antibiotics as a short-time treatment.

Rafael Nadal Aims to Return at the WOrld Tennis Championship Exhibition in Abu Dhabi. Image: Getty.
Rafael Nadal Aims to Return at the WOrld Tennis Championship Exhibition in Abu Dhabi. Image: Getty.

“Everything went well,” Nadal told reporters as he left the hospital on Wednesday. “ It was simple, ordinary surgery.”

The 2015 campaign begins in two months, with Nadal aiming to return at the Qatar Open in Doha on 5 January to defend the title he won this year. The first Grand Slam of the coming year, the Australian Open, is only 75 days away.