Nadal poised for stem cell treatment on ailing back

Former world number one Rafael Nadal's doctor has revealed that the 14-time Grand Slam winner would receive stem cell treatment on his back that is in poor health.

Angel Ruiz-Cotorro revealed that they are going to put cells in a joint in Nadal's spine next week in Barcelona. The Spaniard was already sidelined for the rest of the season after having his appendix removed last week.

Ruiz-Cotorro, who has worked as a doctor for Nadal for the past 14 years, said that the Spanish tennis ace's back pain is typical of tennis players and that the treatment is meant to help repair his cartilage and is similar to stem cell treatment the former world number one received on his knee last year, Sport24 reported.

The doctor also said that Nadal is expected to return to training in early December.

Nadal experienced severe back pain during the final of the Australian Open in January when he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka. His doctor revealed that he has a problem typical in tennis with a back joint, he had it at the Australian Open, and they have decided to treat it with stem cells.

Ruiz-Cotorro also revealed that stem cells were recently extracted from Nadal for a cultivation process to produce the necessary quantities. He said that when they have them they would put them in the point of pain, with the goal of regenerating cartilage, in the midterm, and producing an anti-inflammatory effect.

Nadal won a record ninth French Open along with three other titles this season before a stunning loss to teenager Borna Coric at the Swiss Indoors in October dropped him to number three in the ATP rankings. That tournament was only his third since Wimbledon due to a wrist injury, the report added.