Tennis player Rafael Nadal suffered a stomach virus that made him withdraw at the last minute from an exhibition tournament scheduled in Abu Dhabi, organizers said in a statement released Tuesday.

The Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition game on Thursday was expected to be a "comeback" for Nadal who has been out because of a long-term tendinitis injury in his left knee. Because of the injury, he missed the Olympics, the U.S. Open and the Davis Cup final, which Spain lost to Czech Republic. The 26-year-old Spanish player and 11-time Grand Slam champion has not been on the court since June, where he suffered a defeat in the second round of Wimbledon by Czech Republic's Lukas Rosol.

"Nadal, who has competed in all four previous tournaments, was advised by doctors not to travel or compete due to the illness," organizers said about the United Arab Emirates game.

Nadal won the Abu Dhabi tournament in 2010 and 2011. He doctors ordered him to pull out of Thursday's game after he began running a fever.

"I am very disappointed that I will not be able to compete this year in Abu Dhabi," Nadal said in a statement on his Facebook page.

"I was really excited about returning to play and I always have a wonderful experience at the event and this is the first time I will miss the tournament. Unfortunately doctors have informed me that my body needs to rest in order to fight this stomach virus."

Nadal added that he hopes to return to the tournament and win next year. The tournament will feature defending champion Novac Djokovic, Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Janko Tipsarevic and Tomas Berdych and other players in the top 10.

Nadal's time off of the court caused him to fall to No. 4 behind Djokovic, Roger Federer and recent gold-medal winner Murray in terms of ranking, according to Los Angeles Times.

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