The longer a player stays away, the harder it is for them to get back to previous levels if that's even possible in today's tennis where the quality of play is so high. Thiem and Zverev today are nowhere near the levels they were prior to injury. As good as Nadal is, I'm not sure he's good enough at his age where he can just show up on tour after taking 6 months off and pick up where he left off. It's going to come down to how much losing he's willing to tolerate to get enough matches in him where he can get back up to speed.
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