Nadal to take several weeks off post Australian Open 2012

World number two Rafael Nadal announced his plans to take several weeks off after the Australian Open 2012 tournament which begins on January 16 in order to recover from a nagging shoulder injury.

At an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, Nadal said that he’s been recuperating from the injury even before the year-end ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.

Nadal was a two-time defending champion at the two-day exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi but lost in the semifinals against David Ferrer.

“I had a problem before London with my shoulder and I had to stop for about 10 days before the (ATP) finals,” Nadal said.

“It felt better but again it resurfaced. In December, I did not have enough time to practice because of that,” he added.

Nadal will be competing this week at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2012 tournament in Doha.