Thats a shame. I hope he can recover well.

i feel he will be ok for wimby..rest well champion!!

hope Rafa gets better.
Wimbledon without Rafa will not be quite interesting to watch.

Nadal ..please take your time.

I hope he gets better and full restored soon, so he can give the usual fight Nadal vs Federer to the fans again in wimby.

After all, Federer needs his nemesis and beat it full restored or he won't feel right. ~Nyahahaha >=}

if rafa has to miss wimbledon and other tournaments to fully recover, then so be it. he'll lose his ranking, but that doesn't matter. i would rather have him fighting fit than play injured to protect his rank

best wishes for recovery, tennis world needs a true champ.

I'm not a Rafa fan but I too wish him speedy recovery. The tennis world needs and wants a good competitor and the rivalry with Federer to continue.

We all wish Rafa well. He is a mighty champion.

Wish Rafa well. I think Murray is the favourite this year. I wish to see more people entering the frame. I am supporting Fed and Muzz this tournament. I hope Rafa can recover but it's not suprising that he is injured because we all said that his knees will break down not because we wish him to be like that but it happened so many times already.

torres: surely fed is favourite for wimby now after winning rg? murray kinda has a habit of... not delivering in gs. but i hope i'm proven wrong

as for rafa: he'll recover. it may not be in time for wimby, but he's young and he has fighting spirit :)

It will be a complete shame if Rafa is unable to defend his Wimby title due to knee problems - but I hope he is wise enough to REST THE KNEES if they're screaming to be rested. I was worried because I felt that he was overdoing it for this clay season - playing in every tournament possible.

I would rather him miss Wimby 2009 than to miss all other future Wimbys, if you get what I mean.

Nevertheless, hope he recovers and goes for Wimby all fit and fighting.

well,at least roger won't miss him in Wimbledon,that's for sure...

rafa goin to a specialist in barca on mnday..then he'l decide! keep praying folks....many many congrats to roger federer and his fans!

This explains it.

Like many of you, I've watched Rafa for a long time, and he just hasn't looked himself since Miami a few months back.

Yes, I'll be disappointed if he misses Wimby, but I'm more concerned for his overall career. He's got a lot of years on him and oh so many more Grand Slams.
I want him healthy for the US Open. Arthur Ashe Stadium is only five minutes from my house.

Get better, Rafa! Don't rush!

I don't care if he defends Wimby now. It would be nice if he could but his health is more important to me than a ranking or title. Many of us Rafa fans talked on his fan sites and knew something wasn't right since Miami. Now we know his knee has been acting up since then. But did he use them as excuses when he lost or played below par? NO!!!!!!! He kept his pain to himself and gave full credit to his opponents as he has always done. He is a class act in victory AND defeat and also when he is off court!!!

I am not a fair-weather fan and I will support Rafa no matter what. All we can do right now is pray his recovery goes well and I also pray for peace within his family because we all know that family means the most to Rafa!

Do you really think we believe he would lose to a guy named Robin if he was 100% healthy? No, he wouldve crushed him. Even the so-called greatest of all-time cant beat him when healthy. Weve known something is wrong but given his poise and class he didnt use it as an excuse. Get well soon Rafa.

I agree Slicer. We knew something was up but Rafa and his team had their reasons for not telling all. All we can do now is hope all our get well wishes end up giving us some good news in return.

Get well soon, Rafa, please.

Which one of Nadal's fans came on court today? Probably it was one of the fans from this website. That guy looks like what I would imagine one of the fans here would look like. I hope Nadal does play Wimbledon and gets a similar whacking to the one the Sod put on him last week. Can someone tell him to try not and pick his butt between every point? It's really unbecoming of a Grand Slam champion.

I agree with some of the above posters, I think Rafa should think of hi long term career and not play Wimby this year if he is not 100%.

Chr18 , if you hate Rafa and his fans so much, why are you here, why not go to some thread more deserving of you? I promise we will not miss you too much.

you know what's unbecoming, people like you in the world, you are ugly and evil and dont recognize a good person and great champion when you see one!!

And you know what, Rafa can pick his butt as much as he wants, no one cares but losers like you!!

chr 18
I now know what you watch during matches.
People like you don't sit to watch beautiful game tennis, they are more interested in other things. Rafa is the only man who dominated Roger.

Rafa should play less tournaments rather than playing 2 or 3 tournaments in every month. So that Rafa can be fit to play all the Grand Slams. At the end of his career, everyone will be interested in knowing how many Grand Slams he has won.

chr etin

I find this to be very sad news. I became a fan of Nadal (and a little less of Federer) when I first started to see both play at the FO semi-final in 2005.

Since then the only thing I've found truly difficult is Rafa's struggles with injuries. Not clear whether it is more the style of play or, as some write, an inherent (congenital?) condition.

My one wish for Rafa was and continues to be that he be more or less injury free each year for many to come. He'd then take care of having excellent years.

was listening to Nole's interview few weeks ago on a local national tv, he was asked a question about his opponents/colleagues - he had the highest words of praise for Rafa, his personality, sportsmanship, professionalism.

Chlorostoma, I think with his style of play, he needs to play even lesser tournaments than Federer but he is stubborn about this and gets annoyed whenever people talk about this to him. A lot of people have predicted that his body is gonna break down including Sampras which turns out to be true.

poor rafa. how many times is he going to be reminded that playing madrid was a mistake?!

I think Rafa played in madrid for the sake of the Spanish people.

I sincerely hope that currently he only has combination of mild physical injury & (kind of) sadness, and that he will be fit to play Wimby. Then after round or two - he will regain his confidence and become Rafa we know.

Posmatrac any news of Novak? I'd love to see the guy bounce back from this loss and start winning again.

I wonder if the French Open victory means that Federer will have nothing to lose at Wimbledon.

Hi guys, feel so sad about Nadal, I've repeated thousand times how much I love this guy, /after Novak surely/ do have a hope he'll miraculously be at stage, without him, Wimbledon won't be so interesting, the recent RG showed that, with all my respect to participants in semi-final and final too, I missed Novak, Nadal, even Murray.
I wish him all the best and having a hope tennis fans all over the world will have a chance to see mighty champion...

Sampraliica, Roger said he would be happy to retire now but he enjoys tennis. He has little to prove now.

I think he will take it easy now. No real pressure. I wish to see Novak, Murray stepping it up even more and win grand Slams so that it will be more interesting.

gordana,well said.
If Rafa won't be in Wimbledon (God forbid),then Roger can easily win it.I wanna see him challenged a bit and the only challenge for him in Grand Slams comes from Rafa...

best wishes to rafael....get well soon bro :-)

i cant thank rafa enough....his foundation is establishing a tennis school in my country......always love yaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!

VAMOSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

sisterofnight, I really hope Rafa will be in Wimby, but as I have said, I rather him think of long term and skip it this year if that is the best thing for him.

As for Roger not being challenged without Rafa...I don't really think so. :) I think Murray is really gunning for Wimby 2009, he really wants it.

And Nole as well - Nole is capable of playing a good, solid grass court game, and I think he has really grown, matured and developed his personal self and his game over the last few months since AO09.

And not to mention all the other players, as Roland Garros this year has proven, no one can really be discounted at all, and Roger was duly challenged by Acasuso, Haas and Delpo all the way to the final.

The Fed will be plenty-challenged in Wimby. If Rafa can be beaten on clay by Bobby Sod, then equally anyone has the chance to beat Fed on grass if they put their mind to it, and if Fed happens to be slightly losing it.

I reckon Wimby is an open field. Sure, Roger and Rafa as usual will be the 'favourites' but again, it's there for taking.

jyannis...cant agree with u more regarding how open wimby is going to be ...

all i have to say is if someone can beat roger there ...they deserve to win the tournament . regardless of who it is ....wimby is what roger wants back badly ....and if he fought that hard for the French open ...you can bet your bottom dollar he is going to BRING IT come wimby :)

C'MON !!!!

@Vrael.........u r an Indian ??? I heard he is opening tennis skool in India !!!!!

Get well soon Rafa......... u r a true fighter !!!!

Go Roger Go.........

OH MY GOD!! I can't believe this..it will be really sad if Rafa does not show up for the wimbledon...of course it's more reasonable to consider the long run,but wilmbledon will be spoiled!! I'll pray for him,good luck to him and Rafans...

fedexfan, couldn't agree more. I'm rooting for the Fed, and obviously really want him to recapture the Wimby trophy, but whoever wins it will truly be the deserved victor. I never agreed with the whole "because so and so was not playing therefore so and so won" theory because the man who made it all the way to the final AND win? Would've played his heart out for the win.

I'm a Rafa fan but,
If he was having trouble with his knees since Miami he should have taken it easy.
And, why say it now when he's lost to Soderling?

yeah tnj!!

Shireling

Nadal mentioned nothing about his Knees after he lost to Soderling actually it wasnt even raised in his interview i dont believe. His knee problem has come to light in reference to him not playing at Queens and maybe Wimbledon not in reference to his loss at RG.

Varel........lol........Me from India too........ hehe

Go Roger Go.......

I'm with Shireling. Rafa blogged for the (London) Times that he was coming back to his best after the Hewitt demolition job, so I'm sure the Söderling loss was a freak and nothing to do with his knees as such.

It can't have been fun waking up on his first-ever birthday as No. 1 to find himself heading for the swimming pool and not Court Philippe Chatrier. The curse of the RG top seeding strikes again! But it maybe gave Rafa a little time to sort out his priorities.

My guess is that the Queens no-show is partly precaution, partly a well-earned break after the clay season. As any sports player: you definitely feel those twinges more after a loss.

Rafa will want to keep his very best for Wimbledon. I can't wait to see him in action there.

Vamos Rafa!

Seriously, Murray and Djoker should step it up in the Slams... It will be a waste if Murray doesnt win but his attitude on court is sometimes a lil bit a turnoff for fans. I remember is USO final he screamed, 'F*** y** tw**'. Bad example for children

I'm with you TopDog,

I don't think Nadal himself said anything about his knee but uncle Tondy did say that the knee had been giving them trouble since Miami. The fact is he only said this after Nadal lost at RG (and the bit about the french crowd being idiots- which was totally out of place, whether they are or not- just can't say that sort of thing).
On top of this, Nadal hasn't had his knees taped for a long time now, why is this if he was feeling this pains?
Don't get me wrong, I'm pro Nadal - totally. It's just that all this knee business isn't so clear to me. To be fair, there was a rumour of him not being 100 per cent after his first match at RG, but we all kind of forgot about it after he demolished Hewitt...

sampralica,

no specific news, i remember reading somewhere he said Wimby was his real goal; will see how it pans out.

Shireling,

there was a report when Rafa was practising just before his 1st round match at RG that he had injured his knee.

Also I believe that his camp kept his knee problem a secret fro Miami onwards hoping he could go on till after Wimby, then he was going to take a long rest.
But I guess it got really bad during RG.....

Those of us that have watched Rafa's matches closely know that his movement has been "different" and that he didn't seem to have the spark he normally does ever since Miami. We thought it might be his knee acting up but Rafa and his team did not let on to the public (and opponents) of any weakness that Rafa had.

He never mentioned his knee in regards to his loss at RG. Also the talk about how the crowds acted towards him was not used as an excuse. It was something about the tourney that they didn't like and that is all. All the knee talk is coming up because of his withdrawal from Queens in which a medical excuse is required to avoid being fined and so they could not hide it anymore. As far as the tapes on his knees go, they are NEVER meant to be a permanent solution. Actually, wearing them too much can cause more problems since they are only supposed to provide temporary support to the knees.

there has never been anytime that nadal has blamed his loss on injury, even if it was obvously so. I do have a strong feeling that he will be defending his title at wimbledon

I just hope both Novak and Rafa shine at Wimby. A couple of weeks ago, Novak seemed a sure bet for a GS title this year; I hope the loss at FO didn't shatter his confidence.

Suddenly recalling something I've read a long time ago, here: http://www.chinadaily.cn/sports/2007-11/29/content_6287707.htm

I suddenly remember that everything Uncle Toni says has to be taken with a grain of salt. Unless I (we) hear from Rafa himself, I think it's all speculation at this point.

Phew. Suddenly a Rafa-less Wimby seems more and more unlikely and I'm relieved.

torres9
you quoted that Roger said he has little to prove now.
Even if Roger has won RG but still he could not able to defeat Rafa in 4 matches they played at RG. But Rafa has defeated Roger in Wimbledon. It will put doubt in people's mind while declaring Roger the best player of all times.

F4t,
I'm with you when you say that there was something wrong in Nadal's movement but I don't think it was right after Miami.
I mean the guy managed to win three tournaments after Miami = Montecarlo, Barcelona and Rome.
(have a look here: http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/tournaments/fullcalendar/ )
I frankly don't think he could have done this if he was uncertain about his right knee

I agree that in Madrid Nadal just wan't able to get any momentum going - he depends so much on his power and speed he just couldn't match Federer's game that day, whether this was because of his pains or not we just don't know cause nobody mentioned anything.
Thanks about your comments about needing a medical excuse for not being fined, I didn't know that. Apparently with the new ATP rules, a player can also get suspended if he fails to show up without a convincing excuse - this might be why Nadal mentioned that he hoped the organisers would let him play next year.

Sorry jyannis, I couldn't read your link - error on the page.

Samy, Fed has beaten nadal twice on clay and Nadal only beat Fed once on grass. Nuff said.

Shireling & others, here's the text of the article recopied:

-----

Nadal: Foot injury not career-threatening
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-29 10:47

MADRID - World number two Rafael Nadal denied on Wednesday a claim from his coach and uncle Toni Nadal that he had a potentially career-threatening foot injury.

"This injury hasn't stopped me competing at the top level for over two years. The story that has come out is totally false," Nadal, flanked by Toni Nadal, told Spanish state television.

In an interview published in Wednesday's Diario de Mallorca, Toni Nadal said the injury dating back to 2005 was a serious problem that could have long-term consequences.

"Rafael's career is not in danger. You can see that from the fact that he has just had his best year yet," Rafael Nadal's media manager Benito Perez-Barbadillo told Reuters.

"He sustained an injury to his left foot in 2005 which was treated then. He sometimes has a little pain with it that comes and goes, but every player plays with a little pain.

"This year he has played the second highest number of matches of anyone on the tour and achieved his highest ever points total. It isn't career-threatening."

In his newspaper interview, Toni Nadal said: "Rafael's been affected by an injury to his foot since 2005. He has to learn how to live with it and so far he has managed for two years."

"It's very serious. I don't know (if it's career-threatening). I'll let the doctor reply to that. He has to take a lot of precautions when he plays."

"We are pleased with the season just finished, with the injury and everything. His play has improved and the matches have been less intense.

"Roger Federer is a fully-rounded player; Rafael has a different style. The key factor has been to shorten the length of matches and we have achieved that.

"His problem is that he has to play to maintain his physical tone and fitness levels. There's no other way to do it than by competing."

The 21-year-old won six major tournaments in 2007 including his third French Open title at Roland Garros.

-----

With regards to Fed beating Rafa on clay and Rafa beating Fed on grass etc - there's just no way to measure is, bearing in mind that the grass season is RIDICULOUSLY short, there isn't even an ATP1000 Masters event for grass (seriously I wonder why is that?!?!). Rafa and Roger has very little chances to meet on grass but many chances on clay, in which Rafa is able to prove his adaptation and superiority on.

I guess my point is that Rafa and Roger hasn't played enough on grass to gain a definitive measure on who has the edge, even if Roger is the "grass-court player".

(I hope I'm making sense, it's been a long day for me)

Thx jyannis for pasting the article,

Yes I remember this piece of news, it came totally out of the blue and it was very frightening to think that it might have ended Nadal's career...........luckily it wasn't the case.
Now it's the right knee that's giving trouble - apparently he has an edema.
Now, I'm no doctor but I did find out this link pointing to this sort of problem:

http://myfootshop.wordpress.com/2008/02/08/bone-edema-what s-bone-edema/

Please, if any doctors read this, feel free to correct me if this has nothing to do with Nadal's problem. The scary thing is that it could lead to a fracture and this definitely could put an end to the season.
I agree with you jyannis, the grass season is ridiculously short. I don't know why this is but I'm thinking that it could be because grass is a tricky surface to maintain?

Shireling - if according to reports released so far (that are mostly unofficial so I'm not too willing to entirely believe everything), Rafa may have this problem. MRI imaging will confirm whether is he suffering from bone edema. The article that you pasted pretty much does explain the condition.

The bright side is that it is manageable. Lots of rest, lots of monitoring, anti-inflammatory drugs, and maybe some adapting. Depending on how serious is the condition, Rafa can potentially go on to have a long career if he manages the condition well but that means cutting down on tournaments and making wise decisions to listen to his knees.

The dark side is if he doesn't take care of the condition, it can progress to a breakdown of the knee, possibly resulting in knee osteoarthritis which could be very severe, or a fracture, which will put Rafa out of any physical action for at least 6-8 months at minimum.

I'm not a doctor, but being a medical student, I have some half-baked knowledge. :)

With regards to the grass season, court maintainence didn't cross my mind! That might probably be the reason? Although I definitely would like a longer grass season, one that's comparable to clay. It's surprising that Wimbledon is considered THE most prestigious Slam but there are no major preceding/tune-up tournaments scheduled at all!!

Hey guys just heard at Queens that Nadal will be becoming down to London on the on the 16th June.

You lucky guy TopDog, so you're at queens huh?

Yep guys, it's confirmed :)
I've just heard it from cadenaser.com (spanish radio) = Nadal has confirmed that he will be at Wimbledon even though he might not be at 100 per cent

Great day for the tennis world indeed as Rafa confirms his Wimby title defense! ^.~ The official announcement on his website has more details - but it looks like it isn't bone edema as originally speculated, and the osseous edema doesn't sound too worrying. I'm actually more inclined to be concerned about the insertion tendonitis to his knee - it does mean that he should not be pressurizing it too often.

Anti-inflammatory drugs tend to disguise/downplay the pain/condition and I hope Rafa will take it easy for this week and most of the next, and start strong at Wimby itself.

\:D/ Rafa!

yep. he's gonna "give 200% to make sure he's at 100% to play at wimbledon". which is not definite that he's gonna play, but it's good news, coz he's going off medical advice, and they clearly think he should be ok. he's still got a week before he goes to london, so i'm really, really hoping he'll be fully recovered. i can't see him playing unless he's at 100%, and if nothing else this injury scare should alert him to the fact that he needs to perhaps cut out a few non-mandatory tournies if he wants to keep playing

Hey Shireling yeah i happen to live in London.
They stated a quote from Rafa who said that he would put in 200% at being 100% at Wimbledon which is so rafa. Gotta love the guy.

erm... thia may not be the great news we think it is:

World number one Rafael Nadal says he will give "200%" as he bids to be fit in time to defend his Wimbledon title.

The 22-year-old pulled out of Queen's with knee trouble and has been undergoing tests in Barcelona.

"I will give 200% to be at 100% for the most important date in world tennis," said Nadal in a statement on Tuesday.

The Spaniard, who beat Roger Federer in a classic final in 2008, will now undergo intense rehabilitation ahead of the start of Wimbledon on 22 June.

"I will not go out and play on any court, let alone Centre Court at Wimbledon, if I am not 100%," said Nadal.

"I have two difficult weeks ahead of me, especially because I won't be doing what I like doing most, which is to play tennis.

"I will be working on my recovery through physiotherapy treatments as well as recovery work on the specific muscular area."

Nadal plans to travel to London on 16 June.

The world number one has been suffering ongoing problems with both of his knees and he admitted he had been playing through the pain over recent months.

"The pain was limiting certain movements in my body, which affected me mentally as well," he said.

His unexpectedly early exit from the French Open, where he was beaten in the fourth round by Robin Soderling, allowed him to travel to Barcelona to investigate the problem.

The Spaniard has been diagnosed with "tendonitis in both quadricep tendons with a small amount of fluid on the kneecap".

Wow news travel fast!
Thx everybody for your quick reaction :)
Do you think you'll get tickets for Wimbledon TopDog? that would be awesome!
Thx jyannis for your knowledgeable (even if half-baked) contributions,
So this tendonitis thingie seems to be less worrying than the bone edema, good :)

I'll follow my medical endeavours now with this other link, in case people want to know more about what Nadal has :)

http://www.itendonitis.com/quadriceps-tendonitis.html

I have a doubt though, Jyannis perhaps you can help me?

Sib69 tells us : 'The Spaniard has been diagnosed with "tendonitis in both quadricep tendons with a small amount of fluid on the kneecap".

But, isn't an edema an excess of water in tissue, such as this fluid on the kneecap? Could it be that he has a bit of both things, even though the edema might not be so serious?
I'm not a med student people, I'm just interested in what the real problem might be , hehe

Shireling

I was planning on getting tickets for centre court for a couple of days but was too late.
Supposedly getting tickets for Wimbledon is done by a ballot system the prior year year which i missed. And the tickets on offer at this time are over £2000. lol dont think so . But i will be preparing for next years Wimbledon. lol
The tickets arent that expensive and to watch Nadal play its so worth it.
Hopefully I should be going to the Masters Cup Tournament though at the 02 arena this year as soon as i find some tickets.

My older sis knows how much i love watching tennis especially when Nadals playing so she's decided to treat my younger siblings and me and was planning on taking us all to wimbledon this year but like i said it was just too late. So i will just have to substitute it for the Masters Cup tournament (unless this is also sold out then thats just bad luck) then prepare for next years wimbledon.

TopDog: good luck getting Wimbly tickets. I've been in the ballot every year for 5 years now and got nowt! And when I see those empty corporate seats, why it makes me mad!! But as consolation prize do have tickets for 2 days of O2.

TopDog,

A friend of mine is going to the Masters Cup and already has the tickets since at least a month. Better hurry up if you want those tickets to be affordable!
2000 pounds for a ticket, and sometimes we see empty seats. This is just unfair and completely crazy!

Shireling, edema does mean an excess of water in tissue, in Rafa's case that is what osseous edema is referring to (I think) - fluids in the kneecap. It's not as worrying as swelling in the BONE that's why I think it's better news than bone edema and probably more manageable.

The edema would have been a condition caused by the tendonitis - the inflamed tendon would have caused swelling and hence the gathering of excess fluid in the kneecap.

Jyannis, initially, that's what I thought too. And I keep in mind maybe the use of "osseous" really meant tissue edema but osseoue means bone. love to know what you think:
http://ww.orthosupersite.com/view.asp?rid=29618

Zoey, thank you! I am so embarrassed and am so going to flunk my next rotation (orthopedic). My tutor's definitely going to thump me when he finds out about my horrible mistake.

I was linking osseous with tissue as well but you're right, it is bone. Well it could be bone tissue, but essentially for Rafa's case, the edema involves the bone. Hmm, now I am not entirely sure about bone tissue edema versus bone edema, but there is a difference between osseous tissue and bone.

Might seek some insights from my more knowledgeable seniors during my shift later. To think I am embarking on my orthopedic round after this month...yikes! *starts studying* :(

It's tricky...it's bone tissue, exactly. Think layers of bone, yes osseous is a layer but don't feel bad, it's a matter of terminology. Oh, you'll be fine. No question is a dumb one and take no small detail for granted even if its boorrriinngg! Wise Zoe. Medicine is changing and barely can keep up with the new findings, improved diagnostics. And it is hard to care, frankly, about every detail. Pick a specialty and find a young smart RN, male or female, lol, to help you do procedures. :D

I thought of Lleyton Hewitt when I read that.

What's hard too besides trying to keep up with all the new medical knowledge, is knowing what is available where. Zoey, you know here in the USA, not all technologies are available in every area. Makes you wonder what technologies are available in other countries too, like Spain. I have heard they are better and I've heard they are worse so who knows. I am assuming (hopefully) that they are sparing no expense to provide Rafa with the proper care he needs.

Oh Ya. Certainly true about disparity of available technologies in USA. I've worked outside USA but not to Europe or Spain. So I can't vouch for what standard of care is available there. As is the case, money, the kind Rafa has, can buy him the best care: specialists,
diagnostics and therapies. Rafa decided to remain in Spain for the work-up, must be the best right there, FFT.

I sure hope so zoey. I have said before that I don't care about his rank or titles. His health is more important than any of that. I have a medical background and wouldn't mind helping Rafa out in his rehab.....hehehehehehe (sorry, it's late and I'm buzzed--lol)

Rafa will be fine....he knows how to take care of himself.LOL.Relax Nadal fans,he'll be ok.He won 5 tourneys this year ..he'll be fine.I was very impressed by the fact that Rafa had shortened the length of points and fully expect him to recover quickly and work even harder at keeping his problems at bay.
F4t-Are you sure you'll be only 'helping' Rafa out in his rehab ? ;D *EVIL GRIN*

Thanks so much for your comments people!
I'm getting to be an expert in these things, hehe..
I checked out what insertion tendonitis (not sure if that's the correct terminology) means, it's inflammation (of protective reaction of the tissue against injury)of the part of the tendon that's very close to the bone. In Nadal's case this continuous tendonitis has caused fluid to appear in the kneecap (or patella if you want the fancy-pancy word :) and hence the edema.
In very bad cases this edema business can get much worse and make the bone swell (even the femur) and even fracture - but this only happens to people who never go to the doctor for whichever reason - not Nadal's case
So... does Nadal check out these posts at all?? We would be glad to give him some pointers about this condition, lol

LOL evil evil go away... LOL

Shireling-I'm sure Rafa must know this but thanks for your posts.They're very informative.And relax guys.Rafa will be fine..he might even come out guns blazing and sweep the Wimby.All Champions are born fighters ;D

F4t-Are you sure you'll be only 'helping' Rafa out in his rehab ? ;D *EVIL GRIN*
janhavi
, 6/10/09 8:58 AM

I make no promises--LOL

Rumor has it that Rafa may play in an exhibition match next week to gauge how his knee is. Keeping my fingers crossed!

a chameleon is asking for people to relax..all champions are born fighters maybe..and they win despite such chameleons..hope i don't have trigger happy mafia gangsters coming after me..LOL..