Rafael Nadal: Tennis Star Expected to Miss 2 Months with Torn Tendon

Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal will miss at least the next two months with a torn patella tendon in his left knee, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com) on Monday.

Nadal's knee problems forced him to miss out on the 2012 London Olympics this summer and most recently caused him to withdraw from the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows. 

Nadal will be out for Spain's Davis Cup semifinal against the United States this fall as well.

The 26-year-old last played at Wimbledon in June, losing in the second round to Lukas Rosol in one of the year's more notable upsets. 

Nadal, an 11-time Grand Slam champion, will likely miss the rest of the season and look to return 100 percent healthy for next year's Australian Open in January 2013.

Otherwise, the soonest Nadal could return to the court would be in early November, for the ATP World Tour finals. 

Still, Nadal is confident that he will return to play at a high level after he recovers from his troubling knee problems. Via ESPN.com, he said, "I really want to be back competing and enjoying the tennis tour, but I have many years in front of me and my knee needs some rest."

Nadal is viewed by many as the greatest clay-court tennis player of all time, having won seven French Open titles in the last eight years.

Three years ago, Nadal took some time away from the sport to rest his aching knees. After losing in the French Open for the first time in his career in 2009, Nadal skipped Wimbledon and returned to the U.S. Open. 

Although Nadal's recent knee troubles should be cause for concern, we have seen him bounce back before.

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