Rafael Nadal is a major doubt for the French Open after admitting treatment on the hip injury he suffered in January has not worked.

The 22-time grand slam champion had hoped the injury, which occurred during his second-round defeat by Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open, would take only six to eight weeks to heal.

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Three months later his training schedule is at a halt and, having already missed the first two clay-court events in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, has now pulled out of next week’s Madrid Open.

In a post on Instagram, Nadal said: “It has been a difficult few weeks and months. As you know, I suffered a major injury in Australia, in the psoas (muscle). Initially, it had to be a six to eight week recovery period and we are now on 14. The reality is that the situation is not what we would have expected.