Rafael Nadal has revealed that the wrist injury that he sustained during the French Open still continues to bother him despite ending a two-and-a-half month hiatus at the Rio Olympics.

“The wrist is still the same; the wrist is still bothering me but is a process that I need to pass and a process that I need to go through,” he said.

The Spaniard partook at the recently-concluded Games, where he won the men’s doubles gold before going down fighting in the bronze-medal playoff of the singles event. He, then, returned instantaneously to compete at the Cincinnati Masters, only to be ousted in the third round.

When questioned as to why he has been playing back-to-back matches despite the issues with his wrist, Nadal said that the condition would be no better if he takes time off the court.

“I need to play to go through that process,” he continued. “With more rest the wrist will not go better. The wrist needs to adapt again to the game, needs to adapt again to hit the ball. Still bothers me, but I need to keep playing. Day by day I hope that things going to go better.”

Nadal will now hit the practice courts before heading to the US Open that commences from August 29.