"I suffered a small health glitch (probably following my third dose of vaccine)," he said on his Twitter account.
"On the advice of my doctor, I have decided to take some time off to rest, so unfortunately I will not be able to play the Davis Cup next week."
"I hope to be able to return to the United States", where the Indian Wells Masters 1000 takes place from March 10 to 20, adds Monfils, who had not been called up for the Davis Cup since 2019.
The French N.1 had lost sharply as soon as he entered the fray in early February in Montpellier against the Swede Mikael Ymer, a week after his defeat in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open against the Italian Matteo Berrettini.
Davis Cup captain Sébastien Grosjean, however, was reassuring.
"He had a slightly later arrival (note: because of the Australian Open). He also had to do his third dose of vaccine (against Covid-19, note). I am not at all worried, he will recover," explained Grosjean when the team was announced for the play-off against Ecuador on March 4 and 5 in Pau.
Twelve countries must qualify for the final stages of the Davis Cup via a play-off, to which are added four countries, directly qualified: the finalists of the last edition Russia and Croatia, as well as two guests, Great Britain and Serbia.
During the 2021 edition, France, with a rejuvenated group, had been eliminated at the end of November from the group stage, having been unable to finish among the two best second of the six groups.
© 2022 AFP