Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the ATP Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami because of his ongoing hip injury.

The 31-year-old Spaniard withdrew from this week’s Acapulco Open in Mexico after a recurrence of the problem.

Nadal also retired hurt from his Australian Open quarter-final against Marin Cilic with the same injury.

“I won’t be able to play in Miami or Indian Wells as I need to recover,” said the world number two.

“It was very painful to retire from Acapulco and it’s very hard as well to not play in the USA.

“Unfortunately, the injury I suffered in Acapulco before starting the tournament is in the same area as the one suffered in Melbourne.”

Nadal, who lost his number one ranking to Roger Federer last month, has pulled out of or retired from eight tournaments in a row.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion would have been well placed to return to the top of the rankings in either Indian Wells or Miami had he secured victory in Acapulco.

The tournament in Indian Wells starts on Monday, followed by the Miami event from 19 March.

Both hard-court tournaments are Masters 1000 events – the highest-tiered tournaments on the ATP Tour after the Grand Slams and ATP Finals.

Three-time Slam champion Stan Wawrinka will not play in Indian Wells and Miami either as he continues to recover from knee surgery.