PARIS (AFP) - World No. 6 Milos Raonic withdrew from the French Open on Thursday after failing to recover from foot surgery.

"I am sad to have to unfortunately withdraw from Roland Garros this year, I tried my best to be back and healthy in time after surgery," the 24-year-old Canadian wrote on his Twitter account.

"I will continue my rehab and proceed with preparations for a 100 per cent strong Wimbledon and Queens run. Thank you for the love and support."

Raonic's withdrawal will see nine-time champion Rafael Nadal promoted to the sixth seeding in Friday's draw for the French Open which gets under way on Sunday.

Raonic had surgery on his right foot after being knocked out of the Madrid Open quarter-finals by Andy Murray two weeks ago.

He first suffered the injury at the Monte Carlo Masters in April where he was forced to retire from his last-eight match against Tomas Berdych.

Raonic's best performance at the French Open came last year when he made the quarter-finals where he lost in straight sets to Novak Djokovic.