Andy Murray’s hopes of finishing his career on English grass courts this summer have been thrown into doubt after he suffered a serious ankle injury in Miami last month, but the two-time Wimbledon champion appears to be hopeful of playing again by June.
The 36-year-old Scot has vowed to return to action “as soon as possible”, but it is uncertain when he will be back on court after he sustained such a serious ankle problem.
A statement from the two-time Wimbledon champion’s management team last week read: “Following consultation with his team and medical experts, Andy Murray has taken the decision to miss the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters and BMW Open Munich.
“At this stage, it is still not clear how long Andy will be out of action, and he is continuing to review options with his medical team.
“Obviously this is very disappointing news for Andy and he has reiterated his desire to get back on court as soon as possible.
“He thanks all his fans for their kind messages of support and will continue to update everybody as the situation evolves.”
Andy Murray pulled out of clay courts events this month as he waits to be advised on the next steps of his recovery, but it has now been confirmed that he still intends to play at the cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club in June.
The Scot is a five-time winner at this tournament and the most successful player ever to play in the event.
Now the LTA have confirmed Murray is ‘hoping to play at the cinch Championships this year as he returns from injury’.
That update would suggest Murray has been given encouragement by medical staff that he might have a chance to get back on court without the need for surgery to repair the damage to his ankle.
Having battled for years to recover fully from the hip problems that surfaced in 2017 and resulted in two major operations, Murray previously said he would probably not attempt to come back from another serious injury.
But his Instagram post ended on a typically defiant note, with the former world number one writing: “Yesterday towards the end of my match in Miami I suffered a full rupture of my ATFL (Anterior Talo-Fubular ligament) and near full thickness rupture of my CFL (Calcaneofibular ligament).
“I will see an ankle specialist when I return home to determine the next steps. Goes without saying this is a tough one to take and I’ll be out for an extended period. But I’ll be back with 1 hip and no ankle ligaments when the time is right.”
This year’s tournament at The Queen’s Club looks set to be star-studded with or without Murray, as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will be part of a line-up that includes Holger Rune, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.
If Murray were to make it back in time, this would almost certainly be his final appearance at The Queen’s Club, ahead of what he hopes will be a farewell appearance at Wimbledon a few weeks later.
Despite Murray’s eagerness to get back on the ATP Tour for one last hurrah, tennis legend Martin Navratilova has expressed her doubts over whether we will see him again in action.
“I’ve sprained my ankle badly but I’ve never ripped a ligament. It’s going to take a while. Time is not on his side,” Navratilova told Sky Sports Tennis.
“I don’t know how you can recover well enough to feel stable and not hurt other body parts and to get back into this kind of playing shape.
“It’s tragic and he’s been through so much. I’m wishing him the best but it’s not looking good.”
