Specialist Says Latest Injury Could Limit Andy Murray: "Might be able to play doubles"

The former World No. 1 Murray has pulled out of Australian Open and two ATP events in Europe next month.

Giles Stafford, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon who has been monitoring Murray's return, told the PA news agency, "If it doesn't get better then it might be the end of what Andy is hoping to achieve. It will limit his comeback."

"He might be able to play doubles but singles could be too much for him. So it is obviously a concern going forward. With regards as to how things develop, if the injury doesn't improve, or when he returns to playing and the problem comes back, then obviously he has to think about where he goes from there."

"It is claimed that Andy's hip implant has a better range of motion than a standard conventional replacement but it actually doesn't. One of the problems with it is that it has a reduced range of motion because you save the native neck of the femur just under the ball."

Stafford continues his explanation: "That can dig into the prosthetic metal cup earlier than a normal hip replacement would. I am guessing the issue with Andy is that he is pushing a lot of force through the hip, and I imagine what is happening is that his native femoral neck is hitting up against the metal cup and causing a lot of bruising on the thigh bone."

"The problem is that over time the metal cup can carve a notch in the bone just under the ball, and if that carries on it can predispose the bone to breaking. If that is the case, he will have to change certain aspects of the way he moves, and getting down to the ball and things like that could become an issue. They are just waiting for the bruising to improve but that could take months." he concludes.