Rafael Nadal is a doubt for the Australian Open after pulling out of this week's warm-up event in Brisbane.
The Spaniard has been suffering with an injury to his right knee for months, and was last seen in action pulling out of a tournament in November due to soreness.
Despite over a month off, Nadal revealed he will not be fit in time for the Brisbane International but still intends to take part in the year's first Grand Slam - even if he has no warm-up tournaments under his belt.
"I am sorry to announce I won’t be coming to Brisbane this year," he said in a statement.
"My intention was to play but I am still not ready after last year’s long season and the late start of my preparation."
Andy Murray still hopes to play in Brisbane after his own fitness issues, while world no. 3 Grigor Dimitrov will be the top-seeded player at the event, which begins on Sunday.
The world No 1 still hopes to play the Australian Open next month and build on his stunning year.
Nadal finished his 2017 in disappointment when he withdrew from the ATP finals in London after one match - a defeat to David Goffin - but won two Grand Slams to move back to top of the rankings.
He was scheduled to hit the practice courts in Majorca last week with a training session alongside Portugual’s Joao Sousa, but Nadal opted to sit out and further undergo knee tests in Barcelona.
While doubts linger about his participation at the Australian Open due to his fitness and injury issues, he said in a separate tweet that he will now be heading to Melbourne on 4th January to prepare for the first Grand Slam of the year. Nadal had reached the final at the 2017 Australian Open, where he lost to rival Roger Federer in five sets.
