Milos Raonic to have foot surgery; Pospisil returns to Florida to rehab ankle

MIlos Raonic tried to avoid having surgery to fix a pinched nerve in his right foot. But in the end, it was the best course of action after rest, rehab and treatment failed to address the solution.

The No. 1 Canadian will have it done next week, which required him to withdraw from the big ATP Tour event in Rome. But given the discomfort he was feeling, that was probably a moot point.

Raonic's manager, Austin Nunn, told the Toronto Star that there was no muscle damage.

With recovery time, according to Nunn, being a week and a half to two weeks, and the fact that the French Open (which being May 24) is best-of-five sets on clay, it will be a challenge.

Meanwhile, Raonic's Davis Cup teammate Vasek Pospisil, is returning to Bradenton, Fla. to undergo rehab for the left ankle sprain he suffered Friday during his doubles match in Madrid with American partner Jack Sock.

Pospisil was diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain - as ankle sprains go, this sort of falls in the medium range. (Grade 1 is mild damage to the ligament without affecting the stability of the joint. Grade 2 is a partial tear - basically, the ligament gets stretched and loose. Grade 3 is a complete tear of the ligament).

Pospisil's coach Frédéric Fontang told Eh Game that the first order of business was to get the ankle healed and in about 10 days' time, a better evaluation could be made about his French Open prospects.

In other words, what seemed like pretty bad news on Friday was, indeed, some pretty bad news.