Andy Murray has undergone further hip surgery in a bid to save his tennis career.
The former world No. 1 announced he was on the verge of retirement before the start of January’s Australian Open, saying the pain in his right hip has not subsided despite an operation a year earlier.
Murray, 31, confirmed on his social media account on Tuesday morning that the surgery took place and he is hopeful that it can ease the hip pain.
“I underwent a hip resurfacing surgery in London yesterday morning,” he said. “Feeling battered and bruised just now but hopefully that will be the end of my hip pain.”
Murray lost a five-set thriller to Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut in the first round at Melbourne and explained he needed to decide whether to have further surgery — which could risk ending his career — or rest up until Wimbledon in July where he would ideally wish to retire.
Former Chelsea first-team doctor Ralph Rogers informed ESPN that he is not too optimistic about Murray’s chances of competing at Wimbledon.
“I’ll be very pleasantly surprised if Andy Murray managed to compete at Wimbledon this summer,” he told ESPN. “The next 3-4 months are going to be very crucial because he would need to build match fitness in order to feature at Wimbledon.
“I would love to see him there but I can’t see him competing at the tournament if he hasn’t had any game time beforehand.”
After defeat in the Australian Open, Murray decided to withdraw from the ATP events in Marseille and Montpeiller which take place next month.
The three-time Grand Slam champion has been unable to build any momentum for the last 18 months after being repeatedly ruled out.
An outpouring of support from fellow professionals, former players and fans greeted his announcement that the long-term injury could stop him playing tennis.