What was the foot injury that almost stopped Rafael Nadal from winning his 21st Grand Slam?

Rafael Nadal marked his return to tennis after an extended hiatus with a Grand Slam title on the hardcourts of Melbourne Park on Sunday. The Spaniard treated fans at Rod Laver Arena to a match they will remember for years to come -- an epic five-setter where he overturned a two-set deficit to win 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. This was Nadal's 21st Grand Slam title.

His victory over Daniil Medvedev in the final of the 2022 Australian Open meant that the World No. 5 finally overtook Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the Grand Slam race.

The magnitude of the win is extraordinary even without the context surrounding the World No. 5's comeback in 2022. Once all the background information is taken into consideration, the victory becomes even more incredible.

Before the 35-year-old competed in the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set as part of his warm-up to the Australian Open, he had last played a competitive tennis match almost five months ago. A foot-related injury took the Spaniard out of action, forcing him to abandon hopes of playing tennis again for a brief period of time.

What was the foot injury that hampered Rafael Nadal in 2021?

Rafael Nadal exacerbated his foot injury against Novak Djokovic in the 2021 French Open

The foot injury is nothing new in Rafael Nadal's career. News of issues with his foot surfaced for the first time in 2005, when he had to miss the year-end Masters Cup and next year's Australian Open.

Rumors began spreading in 2007 about the problem getting more serious, but the 21-time Grand Slam champion dismissed them. He said in a statement that he had learned to work around the problems he faced with his foot and that it was not career-threatening.

It remained forgotten for the next 13 years, until the 2021 French Open. The 13-time French Open champion was up against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the Serb.

During the match, the injury became aggravated -- to the extent that he stayed 20 days without touching his tennis racket to give his foot sufficient time to recover. The Spaniard made a brief comeback at the National Bank Open, but cut his season short after suffering a defeat in the third round.

While the exact details were not divulged, the Spaniard took to social media in September to announce that he was undergoing a new form of treatment for the persistent issue.

He was spotted using crutches during that time, causing fans to all but give up on the idea of seeing him in action soon.

Rafael Nadal began practicing merely a month after he was spotted on crutches

Rafael Nadal went from crutches to an ATP title in the space of four months

Being the fighter that Rafael Nadal is, the recurrence was not enough to keep him out for too long. Only a month later, social media was flooded with videos of the Mallorcan back on the practice courts.

Spain played the 2021 Davis Cup and the 2022 ATP Cup without their talisman, as the World No. 5 made it clear that he did not want to return before he was in the right shape.

The 2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championships served as a testing ground for the 35-year-old's 2022 season. He lost both his matches at the exhibition tournament, but shook off the rust that had accumulated after months of zero playing time.

Once the 2022 season started in earnest, the Spaniard did not take his foot off the gas. Beginning with his first match in the Melbourne Summer Set, Nadal has now won 10 matches on the trot. The former World No. 1 will end the Australian swing of the season with two titles to his name and no losses.

With the clay court season coming up next, the 21-time Grand Slam champion has every chance of improving on his tally of Majors. The foot injury that dominated most of his previous year is now nothing but a bad memory for the new record-holder.