Not a big surprise, Milos Raonic will skip the French Open

PARIS – In the end, Milos Raonic ran out of time.

The world No. 6 had surgery to address a nerve issue in his right foot a little over a week ago – not nearly enough time to recover in time for a grueling best-of-five sets test on the red clay.

Raonic's foot issue was an ongoing one, not necessarily an unusual one for a tennis player. Eventually, it can get to the point where the discomfort/pain no longer is manageable, and that's where Raonic was at.

The issue was Morton's Neuroma, which usually involves the thickening of the tissue around one of the nerves leading to the toe. Raonic manager Austin Nunn said the surgery was considered a success, and that Raonic was expected back on court within the next week.

But Roland Garros just came too soon. Having less than two weeks post-surgery to try to rehab and train enough to put in a full effort on the red clay was always going to be a tough ask.

With these injuries, players often wait until the very last minute to withdraw, because you never know.

As long as it happens before the official draw – and therefore doesn't require the re-shuffling of seeds – it doesn't have an affect on the integrity of the event.

In this case, Raonic's withdrawal moves Rafael Nadal from the No. 7 seed up to the  No. 6 seed, and that doesn't make any difference at all in the big picture. He still could meet one of the top four (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray or, less crucially, Tomas Berdych) as early as the quarter-finals.

The draw ceremony will begin at 11:15 a.m. in Paris (5:15 a.m. EDT).

Also out is France's Julien Benneteau, because of an ongoing sports hernia issue. Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin are the defending mens' doubles champions.

Another Frenchman, Gilles Simon, is another seeded player who may not answer the bell.