Nadal set for January return

Barcelona - Rafael Nadal underwent appendix surgery on Monday, with the operation passing off smoothly, according to his management company.

"Rafa feeling well, surgery went well, if everything goes as planned out of the hospital tomorrow (Tuesday)," B1PR revealed on their Twitter page.

The Spanish 14-time Grand Slam champion ended his season prematurely after a quarter-final loss at the Swiss Indoors last month ahead of his date under the knife to remove his appendix.

At the time the 28-year-old said: "I need to do the surgery, I need to work on my back next week before the operation. Then I need five weeks to recover."

Nadal has been taking antibiotics to treat appendicitis since early October.

Missing last week's Paris Masters and the season-closing World Tour Finals starting Sunday in London he reflected: "If I play the last two tournaments, I would not be competitive and would have no chance to win.

"It is better for me to recover. I hope to be back at the start of 2015 ready for anything."