Rafael Nadal shrugged off talk of reclaiming the world No 1 spot on Saturday as the 11-time Grand Slam title winner prepared to return after a seven-month injury layoff.

Nadal, now at five in the world after not having played since his shock second-round defeat at Wimbledon in June, will be top seed at the Vina del Mar clay-court event this week.

But he is desperate to cool speculation over whether or not he will be able to return to the top of the rankings, a position occupied by Novak Djokovic.