Nadal withdraws from Roland Garros through wrist injury (updated with more quotes)

No. 4 seed Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the French Open due to a "completely new" left wrist injury here Friday afternoon.

"I'm here to announce that I have to retire from the tournament because I have a problem in my wrist that I have had a couple of weeks," said the nine-time champion at a press conference.

"I arrived here with a little bit of pain, something that I think I was able to manage. But every day it was a little bit worse," he added.

The world No. 5 said he and his team tried all treatments possible, spending a lot of hours working on the injured wrist, even with an injection on it with anesthetic, "just to sleep my wrist" .

Things kept getting worse, however, as Nadal felt he could not move much the wrist on Friday morning.

"It's not broken, but if I keep playing, it's gonna be broken next couple of days," he said.

Nadal just reached a milestone at Roland Garros on Thursday after seeing off Argentina' s world No. 99 Facundo Bagnis to come out the eighth man in history recording up 200 Grand Slam match wins.

He had been scheduled to meet Marcel Granollers in the third round before granting walkover to the fellow Spaniard who advances to last 16 against the winner between 13th-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem and German Alexander Zverev.

"The injury involves the sheath of a tendon in my wrist. It' s not same as previous wrist issues, felt first in Madrid," said Nadal, referring to the right wrist injury he suffered two years ago and some uncomfortable things he mentioned at last month' s Monte Carlo Masters where he was crowned.

Seeking a record 10th triumph at Rolland Garros after humbled by world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a one-sided quarterfinal last year, Nadal admitted that Roland Garros is a special place for him.

"It's obvious that if it's not Roland Garros, I will probably not take risks on playing the first two days. But it' s the most important event of the year for me, so we tried our best," said the Spaniard, who turns 30 years old in seven days.

"When I am coming to Roland Garros, I am coming thinking about winning the tournament. To win the tournament I need five more matches, and the doctor says that's 100% impossible," he added.

According to Nadal, Friday' s withdrawal announcement was "one of the toughest press conferences in my career."

"Nine times in my career I' ve been able to be healthy here and win this tournament. Now is a tought moment. But it' s not the end," he said.

"I feel myself with the right motivation and the right energy to be back in Roland Garros the next couple of years, and I really hope to keep having my chances in the future."

Nadal said the injury might keep him sidelined for three months, but that no one could tell exactly how long it' d take to fully recover.

"I will not play before I have recovered entirely," he added. "There' s no way I can play before I can use the forehand." Endit