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Nadal eyes Indian Wells return

Rafael Nadal feels he is making good progress from injury © Getty Images

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Rafael Nadal has issued an upbeat bulletin on his fitness and confirmed he will return to action at Indian Wells in March.

The Spaniard looked a broken man when retiring against Andy Murray at the Australian Open on account of a knee complaint. Knee problems have plagued the world No. 3 for some time, but a scan suggested the latest problem was only a minor one.

After a period of inactivity, Nadal returned to a practice court in his home town of Manacor this week and was happy with how the joint felt. He will take things slowly, but is targeting a return to action on the hard courts of America next month.

"Right now, this week and these first few days back, it's a matter of taking things slowly," Nadal told Reuters. "I think things are progressing very well. I have been working with the appropriate machines to help the tear heal as quickly as possible and also done a lot of physical work in the gym."

Commenting on his likely return at Indian Wells, Nadal said: "It's a tournament where I have almost always played well. Let's see what happens.

"It's the first event I will have played for a month and a half and it's always more difficult to start like that. I am hoping to play well and build confidence for a strong start to the clay court season."

Nadal has all-but ruled out returning to action in the Davis Cup the week before Indian Wells and has no plans to take an extended break from the game.

"It could be a bit early to come back," he said. "I'll see how things go for me physically but I would need to be ready in about a week and a half and I think that taking things slowly would be more prudent.

"I am very content with what I am doing and I feel very lucky to be playing tennis. I am not planning right now to do anything else than dedicate my life to playing tennis."

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