Nadal to return in December in Abu Dhabi

The 14-time Grand Slam winner has been plagued by a wrist injury in 2016, an issue that forced him to withdraw from the French Open and miss Wimbledon.

Rafael Nadal will be back on court at the exhibition tournament when he attempts to defend the title in the United Arab Emirates.

Rafael Nadal has confirmed he will return to action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi next month.

The 14-time Grand Slam winner has been plagued by a wrist injury in 2016, an issue that forced him to withdraw from the French Open and miss Wimbledon.

Nadal returned for the Rio Olympics in August and claimed gold alongside Marc Lopez in the men's doubles, but missed out on bronze in the singles following defeat to Kei Nishikori.

However, the former World No. 1's wrist continued to prove troublesome and he brought his season to a premature end last month after struggles in Beijing and Shanghai followed his last-16 U.S. Open exit.

But Nadal will be back on court at the exhibition tournament when he attempts to defend the title in the United Arab Emirates.

"Excited to announce my first tournament back will be in Abu Dhabi at the #MubadalaWorldTennisChampionship in December," the Spaniard wrote on Twitter.

Nadal will feature in an impressive line-up that includes newly crowned world number one Andy Murray, Milos Raonic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The non-ATP affiliated event begins on December 29