Former world number one Andy Murray's lingering hip issues forced him to withdraw from the Brisbane International on Tuesday with the Briton admitting he was unsure whether he could recover in time for the Australian Open later this month.
Murray has not played a competitive match since a Wimbledon quarter-final loss last July due to the complaint and despite coming through a one-set exhibition in Abu Dhabi last week, he was unable to train on Tuesday and announced his withdrawal.
"I'm very disappointed to be withdrawing from the Brisbane International," Murray, seeded second in Brisbane, told tournament organisers before going into further detail of his predicament in an emotional post on social media.
“Surgery is also an option but the chances of a successful outcome are not as 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,” said Murray.
The world number 16 had been due to play his first tournament match of the season on Thursday with a second-round encounter against American Ryan Harrison at the Pat Rafter Arena. He will be replaced by the lucky loser Yannick Hanfmann of Germany.
Murray, who said on Sunday that he planned to trim his schedule in 2018 to prevent a recurrence of his injury issues, will remain in Brisbane for the rest of the week before planning his next move.
Brisbane tournament director Cameron Pearson wished the three-time Grand Slam winner well.
Murray's latest injury setback will also come as a blow to Australian Open organisers ahead of the year's first major in Melbourne starting on 15 January, along with those of fellow "Big Four" members Rafael Nadal (back) and Novak Djokovic (elbow).
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