Last week Andy Murray said he wanted to avoid going under the surgeon’s knife to cure a long-standing hip injury, but the former world No.1 has revealed he has undergone surgery in Australia in a bid to get his career back on track.
The Briton, 30, has said he is optimistic about his future and is aiming to play at Wimbledon this July following the operation on his right hip by Dr John O’Donnell, one of the world’s leading hip surgeons.
“Today I underwent successful right hip surgery at the St Vincent Hospital in Melbourne,” said the three-time grand slam champion on his Facebook page.
“I look forward to returning to competitive tennis during the grass court season. Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes and support over the last few days. I’ll come back from this.”
Murray, now ranked 16th in the world, has not played competitively since July 2017. The Scot attempted a return at the US Open in August but pulled out two days before the start of the tournament and last week he withdrew from the Australian Open, which starts on January 15.
The two-time Wimbledon champion wrote on Instagram last week that surgery was his “secondary option” because “the chances of a successful outcome are not as I high as I would like.”
His reluctance to be operated on was understandable. Players who have had hip surgery in the past, such as former world No.1s Gustavo Kuerten and Lleyton Hewitt, have struggled to recapture their previous form.
Two-time grand slam champion Hewitt failed to reach the latter stages of grand slams after undergoing surgery in 2008, while Kuerten’s best after going under the knife in 2002 was the Australian Open third round.
But Murray, speaking from his hospital bed, told reporters he was “not finished playing tennis yet.”
“I’m going to be competing at the highest level again,” he added.
“I’m very optimistic about the future – the surgeon is very happy about how it went.”
