Nadal is due to play Jared Donaldson in the second round of the Shanghai Masters later today, the same match that ended his season last year.
In 2016, the Spaniard was upset Viktor Troicki and took the rest of the year off to deal with a wrist injury.
The break appeared to reinvigorate the 31-year-old, who has since reached the Australian Open final and secured a 10th French Open title.
And Nadal won his 75th career title last week when he beat Nick Kyrgios in straight sets to take the China Open, admitting afterwards the rare positive effects of his injury.
“Of course it is a nice feeling [to win a tournament after injury],” Nadal said.
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“But it is a feeling that I already had a few times in my career.
“Of course it is not the positive thing, because it’s better don’t have injuries.
“But at the same time the injuries, the only positive thing about injury is when you come back and when you have success, you appreciate it even much more.”
Nadal’s longevity has surprised fans and pundits alike, who believed that his hyper-muscular physique would see him break down and retire before the age of 30.
But having slimmed down and taken time out to deal with injuries where required, the 16-time Grand Slam champion shows no sign of letting up, now world No 1 again.
However, he does not believe much has changed on the court since he won his first French Open title 12 years ago.
“The essence of my game is probably the same, but during the years and during your career, I always say the same, of course you lose things,” Nadal added.
“On your way you lose things that you have when you are younger, so you need to act on other things to keep being competitive.”