The Indian men’s tennis team’s bid to reach the Davis Cup Qualifiers was dealt a blow after the No 1 singles player from the country Sumit Nagal withdrew from the upcoming tie against Sweden due to a back injury.

Nagal announced on social media that he has been advised “rest for the next two weeks” to recover.

India is scheduled to play Sweden in Stockholm for the World Group 1 tie on September 14 and 15.

Nagal had been expected to spearhead the team that includes India No 2 Ramkumar Ramanathan, doubles specialist N Sriram Balaji and debutants Siddharth Vishwakarma and Nikki K Poonacha.

“Due to a back issue that has been bothering me for the past few weeks, doctors have advised me to rest for the next two weeks, leaving me without enough time to prepare and compete in Sweden,” Nagal posted on X, formerly twitter, on Monday.

“This same issue also led my withdrawal from the US Open doubles.”

Nagal lost in the first round of the men’s singles event at the US Open last week, losing to Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor in straight sets. Ranked No 73 in the world, he is the only Indian player – male or female – currently in the top 100 singles rankings.

India will also be missing out on veteran Yuki Bhambri, who had opted out of the tie, while India No 3 Sasikumar Mukund had reportedly been suspended for two ties by the All India Tennis Association for sitting out of India’s previous tie against Pakistan.

World No 656 Aryan Shah, an 18-year-old from Bhuj has been named as the reserve player for the tie. In Nagal’s absence, the Indian management have the option of calling him up to compete in the tie.