Andy Murray returning in time for Wimbledon is ‘too optimistic’, says leading hip surgeon

Doubtful | Andy Murray
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Andy Murray’s hopes of returning to action at Wimbledon were always ambitious, according to a leading London hip surgeon.

Murray is believed to have suffered a setback in training following an operation on his hip in January, casting doubt over whether he will feature in the grass-court Grand Slam, which starts on July 2.

“When he had surgery, he talked about being back for Wimbledon,” said consultant orthopaedic surgeon Giles Stafford.

“While the quality of surgery that he had is as good as it gets and he has the very best ongoing treatment, that return date was as optimistic as you can get.

“Getting back to practising full time around the four-to-six months stage is good but he wanted to be competitive by then.”

In Pictures | Andy Murray

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Before the latest developments there had been some hope he could return at the Loughborough Trophy later this month.

That now looks like a pipe dream. The Scot officially entered the draw for Queen’s on Tuesday and organisers at the event, which starts on June 18, said they were “hopeful that he will play” at a tournament in which he is a five-time winner.

But Stafford said: “Broadly speaking, there’s no reason why he can’t get back to playing his very best. But he’s said he won’t come back until he can play competitively at the very highest level. If he feels he can’t do that [this summer] then taking more time off is fine. It’s better to make sure the hip is right.”

During his absence, Murray has lost his ranking as British No1 to Kyle Edmund, who yesterday beat Novak Djokovic in three sets to reach the third round of the Madrid Open. The win will move him into the world’s top 20 for the first time next week.

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