Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal will only play one game at the ATP Finals before withdrawing from the competition due to injury, according to Sky Sports pundit Greg Rusedski.

Two weeks ago at the Paris Masters, the 31-year-old picked up a knock to his knee that forced him to withdraw from the competition; it seems now that he has not fully recovered from the incident just yet.

Nadal was spotted yesterday at London's O2 Arena practicing for his first match against Belgium's David Goffin, which makes Rusedski believe that Nadal will try his knee out for one game before giving in to the pain and withdrawing.

Rusedski does not see Nadal progressing very far in the tournament with his knee injury holding him back, and believes that he will eventually be replaced by his compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta.

"I just looked at Paris,” Rusedski said.

“He got the World No 1 and you saw him limping in his last match that he won there in Paris and then withdrew the next day.

“When you can’t push up on your serve and you look at the impact the courts have on your body, I don’t think he’d be ready for this event.

“But he would like to give it a go and try it out and see if he can make it.

“Plus on top of that, this court is a lot quicker than Paris, lower bouncing that puts a lot more stress on the body.

“I think Rafa’s probably going to play one match then pull out.

“I’ve taken a little risk again on that category and put Carreno Busta into the next round.

“So I'm either going to look like a genius or I don’t know what I’m talking about whatsoever.”

Rusedski believes that the quicker courts in the London O2 Arena compared to the French courts will put too much stress on Nadal's knee and that it will be too much for the Spaniard to handle past the first match.

Whatever does end up happening, Nadal will be competing against his Belgian opponent David Goffin at 8pm tonight with a huge audience ready to watch.