Scans reveal full extent of Nadal injury

World No.1 Rafael Nadal will miss just a month of action with the injury that forced him out of his Australian Open quarter-final with Marin Cilic on Tuesday night.

Scans revealed the Spaniard suffered a grade one injury of his Illiopsoas on his right leg -- in simple terms, a low-grade hip muscle strain.

He will rest upon his return to Spain for two weeks before beginning a rehab process that will include a swift return to the tennis court.

"Three weeks is the normal time to totally recover and he will resume his tennis schedule as planned, playing Acapulco, Indian Wells and Miami," the statement read.

The Acapulco hard-court event begins on February 26, with the back-to-back Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami following on March 5 and March 19 respectively.

The news of a low-grade strain is positive, given Nadal entered the Australian Open on the back of a knee injury he had managed through the end of the 2017 season.

The 31-year-old was hobbling around the court in the games leading up to his retirement, and he was slow on his feet as he completed his commitments at Melbourne Park before returning to his hotel.

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A shattered Nadal used his post-match press conference to share his concerns over the tour schedule and potential for life-changing injuries.

"Somebody who is running the tour should think a little bit about what's going on," Nadal said.

"[There are] too many people getting injured. I don't know if they have to think a little bit about the health of the players.

"Not for now that we are playing, but there is life after tennis.

"I don't know, if we keep playing on these very, very hard surfaces, what's going to happen in the future with our lives."

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