Andy Murray reveals he may need further hip surgery

What's the story?

British tennis star Andy Murray, who has been out of action since November, has revealed that he is facing the prospect of another hip surgery.

In case you didn't know

Andy Murray, who was part of the awesome foursome along with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, has had a horrendous run with injuries for the last couple of years.

Murray is a three-time Grand Slam champion having won the Wimbledon title twice, once in 2013 and then again in 2016, and the US Open in 2012. His greatest accomplishment was winning back-to-back gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics.

After having attained the World No. 1 status in 2016, his career took a nosedive due to multiple injuries and consequent loss of form. But the biggest concern has been his recurring hip injury that initially surfaced in 2017.

Murray underwent a hip surgery in January 2018 and was out of action for more than 6 months. He made sporadic appearances on the ATP tour as he was still recuperating from the injury and had to undergo a hip resurfacing surgery again in 2019.

The heart of the matter

Andy Murray has revealed that he is facing the prospect of a third hip surgery. Murray, who has been out of action since November due to a pelvic bone injury, believes the next few weeks would be crucial in deciding if he would be needing further hip surgery. Although he is looking to be back in action in March in Miami, he may need an operation to remove bone growth associated with the surgery he had underwent earlier.

“I don't want to say I will definitely be in Miami playing but there is also the possibility that I might have to have something done. We'll just have to see."

Murray hoped that the issue is resolved with an arthroscopy and he doesn't have to go under the knife again.

“I should know by the end of next month whether I'm good to play or not with it. That's what I have to wait for. And then the issue around that is if they can't get to it with an arthroscope, which is obviously the hope, is that I would then have to be opened up again. That obviously takes longer to recover."

He moaned that he had no idea how long he would be away from the game.

“It's not like a major operation to have it removed but it's just if they cannot get there with an arthroscope to remove it, that is the issue. How long would I be out for? I have no idea."

He was also not sure if this was a permanent solution or the issue might surface again.

"The thing is, if I have that thing removed and it just grows back, I can't do anything about that really."

Murray added that he has missed playing the Slams for the last few years and missing the Australian Open this year was very tough for him.

"I want to play in the Slams again. That is the thing that I have missed over these last few years. Missing the Australian Open for me this year was rough."

He lamented that he might have to miss his favourite Wimbledon and would also not be able to try his luck at winning the Olympic gold for the third successive time if he has to undergo the surgery.

"But it's just if I wasn't able to have it until May or what whatever, with six to eight weeks' rehab, then that would mean missing that period (the grass-court season)."

What's next?

Murray would certainly hope that this injury concern is resolved at the earliest and he does not have to undergo another surgery. He will definitely love to play the grass-court season and take a shot at another Olympic gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Undergoing another surgery might just be the end of his glorious career. Murray and his millions of fans will certainly hope that is not the case.

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Also see | Top 5 moments of Andy Murray's career