Rafael Nadal on Friday pulled out of Spain's Davis Cup semifinal against Israel because of lingering fears over the abdominal injury which has affected his US Open campaign.
Nadal will be replaced by veteran Juan Carlos Ferrero in the defending champions' squad for the semifinal which takes place from September 18-20, the Spanish tennis federation announced.
The decision was taken in New York by Spain captain Albert Costa after world number three Nadal indicated that he would prefer not to play because of the stomach muscle problems he has endured at the final Grand Slam event of 2009.
Ferrero will join a squad made up of David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez for the tie to be played in Murcia, south-east Spain.
The Spanish team are already without their number two player Fernando Verdasco.
Nadal was on Friday due to resume his US Open quarterfinal clash against Chile's Fernando Gonzalez which had been halted by rain the night before with the Spaniard leading 7-6 (7/4), 6-6 (3/2).
However, torrential downpours at Flushing Meadows again on Friday caused play to be abandoned with Nadal having to return on Saturday to complete his last eight match.