Virus rules Nadal out of Abu Dhabi return

Former men's tennis world number one Rafael Nadal's long-awaited return after an agonising six-month knee injury battle has been put off because of a stomach infection he revealed on his Twitter and Facebook sites on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old Spaniard - who hasn't played since his shock second round exit to 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon in June - had been due to play in a six player exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi this week ahead of his return to the ATP circuit at Doha from December 31.

He was due to join world number one Novak Djokovic and US Open champion Andy Murray among others at the three day event.

AFP