"At the Davis Cup I was diagnosed with this bone bruise on the pubis, which was mild and obviously not a big deal, but they can sort of niggle on if they are not handled properly"
Wednesday 26 February 2020 10:39, UK
Andy Murray says he may need to undergo another operation in a bid to return to top-level tennis.
The former world No 1 has not played a match since the Davis Cup finals in November after being diagnosed with what was initially thought to be mild bruising on his pelvic bone.
Murray pulled out of the Australian Open and then two ATP events earlier this month and he admits he could need an operation to remove bone growth associated with the hip resurfacing surgery he underwent last January.
"I would hope I should know by the end of next month whether I'm good to play or not with it," Murray said.
"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, that I would then have to be opened up again. That obviously takes longer to recover."
I want to get back to playing in the slams. That's what excites me and interests me. There is no reason why I can't.
The three-time Grand Slam champion says he resumed practice and running a few days ago.
"It's been unbelievably complex," Murray said. "At the Davis Cup I was diagnosed with this bone bruise on the pubis, which was mild and obviously not a big deal, but they can sort of niggle on if they are not handled properly.
"It didn't really get better. I started rehabbing, I started hitting a few balls, I started running again on the treadmill and stuff to try and build back up.
"The thought was maybe that I had just irritated it and should give it enough time until it's gone. But my pain was not getting better. I was basically like, 'Look, I am not happy with this diagnosis'.
"And because of the hip and the metal in the hip, it is extremely difficult to get a clear diagnosis because the metal on the scan makes it extremely difficult to read them.
"So the concern was then, well, we can't see exactly what is going on in here, is there a problem with the actual prosthesis? Then from there, I had to have a bone scan.
"But there are complications with that because it is normal to have quite high bone activity in the first 14 to 16 months after hip resurfacing, so you can get red herrings, but all of those scans showed that it was clear."
Murray, who won his first singles title since 2017 at the European Open in Antwerp last October, says his priority is to return to fitness in time to play at the remainder of this year's Grand Slams.
"I want to play in the slams again," the 32-year-old said. "That is the thing that I have missed over these last few years. Missing the Australian Open for me this year was rough.
"At the end of last season, I was actually starting to play pretty well, I was feeling good and then this happened.
"I want to get back to playing in the slams. That's what excites me and interests me. There is no reason why I can't."
Murray was earlier announced as one of four players in the initial line-up for June's Fever-Tree Championships at Queen's Club, where he is a five-time champion.
Check our news, reports and reaction from all major tennis events by following us on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices or our Twitter account @skysportstennis.
