Former world number one Rafael Nadal has claimed that the way his knee reacts on his comeback to tennis is more important than results.

The Spaniard has not played a competitive match since Wimbledon in June and admits that he must concentrate on reaching full fitness ahead of his return next month in Chile.

Nadal told reporters: "Well I am going to play [after] a long time in a tennis tournament, professional tennis tournament, after seven months.

"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.

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

Following his appearance in Chile, Nadal is scheduled to compete in the Brazil Open and Mexico Open.