Rafael Nadal has declared his Australian Open preparations on track after recovering from appendix surgery.

The former world No.1 and 14-time grand slam champion went under the knife last month but on Friday hailed the laparoscopic appendectomy a success and said he was now back in full training.

“The operation on my appendix was good. No problems at all,” Nadal said in a teleconference from Spain.

“I am able to practice for a lot of hours at a high intensity.

“After five months of pain, that’s important to me.”

Being struck down by appendicitis in October completed an injury-plagued 2014 for the 27-year-old.

He was “unable to compete” during his Australian Open final defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka because of a back injury and then hurt his wrist at Wimbledon, where he lost in the fourth round to Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios.

His last match was a straight-sets quarter-final loss to Croatian Borna Coric in Basel in October.

But the 2009 Australian Open champion is confident that two lead-up tournaments in the Middle East will have him in decent enough shape to be a threat once again at Melbourne Park when the season’s first major gets underway on January 19.

“The main thing for me is I am able to work hard in these next weeks,” Nadal said.

“I am sure the level of intensity and level of competition will be helpful for me.

“I will try to spend as much time on court as possible. Every match that I have the opportunity to play is important.”