Tennis news - Andy Murray admits he could require further surgery on troublesome hip

It was at last year's Australian Open that Murray was left in tears at a news conference where he told reporters that he was in such pain from a chronic hip injury that it might be his last tournament.

However, following major hip surgery, the former world number one looked on course to return to the upper echelons of the men’s game when he won the European Open in Antwerp in October.

And while he hopes to return to action next month, the three-time Grand Slam winner has admitted he could require further surgery on his hip.

“I do want to keep playing. Whether I’m able to or not is the question,” began Murray in an interview with the Guardian.

"I've not had lots of clarity as to what the issue actually is, because it is difficult to tell," Murray added.

The Scot last played a competitive match at the Davis Cup finals in Madrid in November, where, following his win against Tallon Griekspoor, he was diagnosed with a bruise on his pelvic bone.

“At the Davis Cup the bone bruise was causing the soft tissue and everything around to stiffen up and spasm,” he continued.

Murray added he may also be suffering from a common side effect of hip resurfacing operations, heterotopic ossification, whereby bone forms outside the skeleton.

“There is something called heterotopic ossification, which is bone growing outside of the normal skeleton; it grows in soft tissues," he continued.

"That grows for 14 to 16 months post-surgery and can cause impingements, pain, aching. That might be causing the issue - if you try to remove that while it is still active in the process of growing, it grows straight back."

Therefore, having resumed practice this week, the 32-year-old told reporters that the next few weeks will prove critical to whether he will need further surgery.

“I can’t have it removed until it is finished growing. I am now pretty much at 13 months since the operation last January, so I would hope in this period while I am building up and trying to basically test it out, I should know by the end of next month whether I’m good to play or not with it.

"If I have to have that removed because it is what is causing the problem, it's not that long an operation really in terms of the rehab and stuff. But it's just if I wasn't able to have it until May or whatever, with six to eight weeks' rehab, then that would mean missing that period."

And depending on the success of any rehab, that period could include Wimbledon which begins on June 29, and potentially the Olympics, with the men's final is set to take place over the first weekend of August.

Murray added that as things stand he intends to return to the circuit at the Miami Open on March 23 but that is dependent on how his body reacts to renewed intensity in training.

“Maybe Miami," said the Scot when asked of a potential return date. "There’s no reason not to, because I don’t have an injury as such. If this is what the issue is, then it’s a calcification, an impingement. It’s whether that settles with time and the body gets used to it and whether I’m able to manage it when playing.

"I might be playing in the next few weeks. That's what I hope, but over the last couple of years I have become quite pessimistic about time frames and stuff because of what has gone on, and what has been said to me."