Rafael Nadal will announce on Thursday whether or not he will participate in Roland-Garros

Will Roland-Garros be played with or without its record holder? Rafael Nadal, absent from the circuit for several months due to an iliac psoas injury in his left leg, will announce his decision to play, or not, the Paris tournament he has won 14 times during a press conference on Thursday May 18 at 4pm: 00 will also be communicated “the reasons for his choice, whatever it is”the player’s team said in a statement Wednesday.

Aged 36, Nadal suffered a psoas (hip flexor) injury in the second round of the Australian Open on January 18, losing to American Mackenzie McDonald in three sets. Since then he hasn’t played in the competition again, notably missing the tournaments in Madrid and Rome. “Initially I was supposed to be out for six to eight weeks, but we’re already moving towards the fourteenth […] We followed all the medical prescriptions, but for some unknown reason the injury didn’t progress as we were told at the beginning and we ended up in a difficult situation.”he explained in a video posted on his social networks on April 20.

If he enters Roland-Garros, Rafael Nadal will be in the running for a potential 15th coronation in Paris and a 23rd Grand Slam, which would be a record for men.