Rafael Nadal pulls out of Indian Wells and Miami due to 'painful' leg injury

Spanish world No 2 was forced to withdraw on the eve of the Acapulco Open and the same injury will keep him out of the two Masters 1000 events.

ACAPULCO, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 26: Rafael Nadal of Spain looks on during a training session as part of the Telcel Mexican Open 2018 at Mextenis Stadium on February 26, 2018 in Acapulco, Mexico.  (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
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Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the Indian Wells and Miami Open tournaments after aggravating the leg injury that forced him out of the Australian Open in January, the Spanish world No 2 said on Friday.

Nadal, a three-time winner at Indian Wells and five-time finalist at Miami, suffered his latest setback during a training session on Tuesday that forced him to pull out of this week's Mexican Open in Acapulco.

"Unfortunately, the injury I suffered in Acapulco before starting the tournament is in the same area as the one suffered in Melbourne," Nadal said on his Facebook page. "I won't be able to play in Miami or Indian Wells as I need to recover.

"It was very painful to retire from Acapulco and it's very hard as well to not play in the USA. I will miss you and I will do everything that's possible to be back there in 2019."

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This marks the latest setback for the 31-year-old Spaniard, who has not competed since retiring from his quarter-final against Croatia's Marin Cilic in Melbourne and recently lost the world number one ranking to Roger Federer.

The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells begins next week while the Miami Open follows two weeks later.

Nadal is the second high-profile player in as many days to withdraw from the tournaments as former world No 3 Stan Wawrinka said his recovery from a persistent knee injury would keep him from competing at both events.