The 23-year-old Spaniard missed out on defending his Wimbledon title this year because of tendinitis in his knee.

“It was just a small dose of contact without too much force, just enough to see how I am feeling,” he said.

“I am happy to return to training, to have the racquet in my hand and do what I like doing.”

He took to the court for 75 minutes in his home town of Manacor in Majorca on Monday.

“It was just a quick training session with no pressure to get a better idea of how he feels and, on top of everything, make sure there is no pain,” said Nadal’s coach and uncle Toni.

Nadal’s knee problems were aggravated by a gruelling schedule of clay court matches in April and May and as a result he has not played a competitive match since being knocked out in the fourth round of the French Open by Robin Soderling at the end of May.

As a result of failing to retain his French Open and Wimbledon titles, he has lost his world number one ranking to Roger Federer.

Nadal says he hopes to return to action to defend his title at the Montreal Masters in August.

“We still have to be cautious and in a week and a half we will know more but I am pleased,” he added in a statement on his website.