Rafael Nadal Meets With The Media Before He Leaves Hospital After Successful Appendix Surgery

Rafael Nadal has been discharged from the Quiron Teknon hospital in Barcelona after staying there for two days following his successful appendix surgery. The World No. 3 cheerfully spoke to the journalists who have all been waiting in front of the hospital, as he headed out of the medical facility.

"I just got out of surgery a day and a half ago and I am not here to do anything else than thank you all for your interest," Nadal told the reporters. Nadal said that everything went well with his operation and that he will discuss his performance in the 2014 season as well as his plans for next year when he gets better.

According to the Associated Press, Nadal should be able to resume full training in a month. Nadal's appendicitis has sidelined him in the remainder of the 2014 season. He wasn't able to play in the BNP Paribas Masters and was forced to pull out of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which begins on Nov. 9.

After Nadal has been discharged from the hospital, he shared a picture to his 14 million followers on Facebook. "The recovery process starts, first step - walking in Porto Cristo," he wrote on Facebook. Porto Cristo is a small town on the eastern coast of Mallorca, Spain.

Hundreds of get well soon wishes and messages of support poured in from Nadal's fans on social media. They all concur in saying that they couldn't wait to see Nadal back in court.

In the 2014 season, Nadal earned four titles, including the French Open title. He has successfully defended the French Open crown for five straight years, from 2010 to 2014. It was his ninth trophy at the Roland Garros tournament.

Nadal aims to be back on court at the Mubadala Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi, where he is a two-time defending champion (2009 and 2011). The tournament will take place at the International Tennis Centre at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi from Jan. 1 to 3. Other confirmed participants at the Mubadala Tennis Championships include Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stanislas Wawrinka, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils.