"In no case is his career or talent called into question, but we see too many athletes using this kind of practice" - Cyclist Thibaut Pinot on Rafael Nadal anesthetizing foot to play RG

Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal has copped criticism for taking injections to numb the pain in his foot during his title-winning run at Roland Garros.

Nadal aggravated a long-standing foot injury at the Italian Open against Denis Shapovalov in the third round, casting doubts over his French Open prospects. But the Spaniard embarked on a commanding run in Paris, defeating four top-10 players, including Novak Djokovic, to win a record-extending 14th Roland Garros crown.

After the tournament, Nadal revealed that he had taken injections to numb his left foot before matches.

French cyclist Thibaut Pinot took to Twitter to question the legitimacy of Nadal's actions. Pinot believes that there have been far too many instances of athletes taking injections to be able to play.

"Today's heroes. Why? Because I have my convictions, a way of seeing sport and sports performance differently than yours may be? My tweet (3 words) which is causing so much reaction fell on Nadal but it could have been (emoticons of different sports)," Thibaut wrote.

The French cyclist also reiterated that he is not questioning Rafael Nadal's career or talent. He stated that he was simply saying that there have been far too many instances of such practices in sports nowadays.

"In no case is his career or his talent called into question here. We see too many athletes using this kind of practice in recent weeks. I almost lost 2 years of surely the most beautiful careers to take care of my back, it was difficult but I am proud of it today," he added.

Thibaut Pinot clarified his comments on injections and wanted to establish that he meant no offense to Nadal or question his French Open win this year.

"Methods that are simply prohibited in my sport, unfortunately so decried. Here is a little more precision on the sadness of my tweet. Sorry if my answer fell on you. Sportingly," Thibaut wrote.

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"What Rafael Nadal did would have been impossible on the bike" - Cyclist Guillaume Martin gives opinion on Rafael Nadal's use of injections

Nadal at the 2022 French Open - Day Fifteen

Another cyclist, Guillaume Martin, also expressed his displeasure at the news of Nadal taking a bunch of injections to play at this year's French Open. In an interview with French newspaper L'Equipe, Martin said people would have accused cyclists of doping had they taken the same injections as Nadal.

"What Rafael Nadal did would have been impossible on the bike, and I find that normal. If we are sick or injured, we don't run, we don't compete, that seems like common sense to me. In the long term, I'm not sure it will do Nadal's ankle any good. Drugs and infiltrations not only have a healing effect, they can certainly improve the performance. If a cyclist did the same thing, even if it weren't forbidden, everyone would fall on him calling him doped," said Martin.

As for Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard stated that he does not wish to take more injections just to be able to play tennis. The Spaniard revealed that he will undergo radio frequency ablation on his foot to help alleviate the pain for an extended period of time. He added that he and his team would reassess his future if the procedure doesn't go as planned.