Rafael Nadal has had a forgettable six months or so. After being knocked out of Wimbledon by Lukas Rosol in the second round in June last year, the Spanish maestro has not played a single tennis match.

Knee trouble has kept out the former world number one, with his absence seeing him go down to No. 5 in the world.

However, the 26-year-old is slowly but surely returning to fitness and has stepped up his comeback with Nadal set to feature in a low-key tournament in Chile in early February.

"Well I am going to play (after) a long time in a tennis tournament, professional tennis tournament, after seven months," Nadal told reporters after training on his home island of Mallorca.

"The motivation, the illusion is big, so very happy to be back in the competition but just you know, with patience to know how the knee will answer after a long time without the top level."

Nadal has been sorely missed by not just tennis fans but his fellow competitors as well, and the Spaniard if everything goes well in Chile, he will continue his comeback with tournaments in Brazil (Feb. 11) and Mexico (Feb. 25).

"I know that the first three tournaments are going to be difficult in terms of results but I am going to try everything," Nadal said. "I will need a few weeks to see how things improve."

If the knee holds up and the Spaniard is back to his belligerent best, then Nadal will again be the favorite to land his favorite Grand Slam title the French Open; but the likeable Spaniard is just concentrating on getting back to full fitness.

"The most important thing for me is the knee...that I can support the pain of the knee and then if I am able to play these three tournaments in a row I think it will work very well for me because I will have three important weeks to prepare for the rest of the season," he added.

The tennis circuit is never the same without Nadal, even if Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer might have been producing some great tennis and providing some wonderful entertainment.

The sooner Nadal returns to action and to his best, the better for the sport.