Andy Murray contemplates surgery to heal hip injury in emotional post

Andy Murray’s return to the tennis court could very well turn out to be longer than once expected. The Briton pulled out of the Brisbane International on Tuesday with a hip surgery that has kept him out of action ever since Wimbledon last year. He played an exhibition match against Roberto Bautista Agut in Abu Dhabi while filling on for another injured player in Novak Djokovic.

But the decision to pull out of Brisbane has put Murray’s Australian Open appearance in serious jeopardy with surgery looking a real possibility. Earlier, both Murray and Djokovic had wished to brush off the injuries and return invigorated for the 2018 season. However, both have struggled in their return. Djokovic’s elbow injury returned and it forced him to retire from Abu Dhabi and Doha.

Murray reflected on the events and provided a transparent view into the injury with surgery an option he has to consider. The Briton added that he would take a decision by the weekend on whether to stay in Melbourne or not. In an emotional Instagram post he wrote, “Hey everyone.. Just wanted to write a little message on here for anyone interested in what in going through right now.”

“Firstly I want to apologise to @brisbanetennis for withdrawing at late notice and to everyone who wanted to come along to watch me play(or lose😇) The organisers couldn’t have been more understanding and supportive and I’ll always remember that. Thank you.”

“I’ve obviously been going through a really difficult period with my hip for a long time and have sought council from a number of hip specialists. Having been recommended to treat my hip conservatively since the US Open I have done everything asked of me from a rehab perspective and worked extremely hard to try get back on the court competing. Having played practice sets here in Brisbane with some top players unfortunately this hasn’t worked yet to get me to the level I would like so I have to reassess my options. Obviously continuing rehab is one option and giving my hip more time to recover. Surgery is also an option but the chances of a successful outcome are not as I high as I would like which has made this my secondary option and my hope has been to avoid that. However this is something I may have to consider but let’s hope not.”

“I choose this pic as the little kid inside me just wants to play tennis and Compete.. I genuinely miss it so much and i would give anything to be back out there. I didn’t realise until these last few months just how much I love this game. Everytime I wake up from sleeping or napping i hope that it’s better and it’s quite demoralising when you get on the court it’s not at the level you need it to be to compete at this level.”

“In the short term I’m going to be staying in Australia for the next couple of days to see if my hip settles down a bit and will decide by the weekend whether to stay out here or fly home to assess what I do next.”

“Sorry for the long post but I wanted to keep everyone in the loop and get this off my chest as it’s really hurting inside. Hope to see you back on the court soon 🎾😢❤️”

The first Grand Slam of the year – the Australian Open – begins on January 15.

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