Year of injury troubles

Courier Sport lays out the timeline of Murray’s injury troubles. June 9 2017 – Murray puts shaky form going into the French Open behind him to reach the semi-finals before losing to Stan Wawrinka but begins to feel the flare-up of a long-standing hip issue that had previously been under control. June 27 – Murray does not mention his hip problem after losing his first match at Queen’s to Jordan Thompson but is forced to publicly acknowledge it when he pulls out of a scheduled exhibition match at the Hurlingham Club, a move cited as precautionary.

July 12 – Walking with a noticeable limp, Murray battles his way into the quarter-finals but his title defence ends with a five-set loss to Sam Querrey. Murray insists he does not expect to be away from the tour for too long.

August 26 - After pulling out of two Masters events and losing his world No 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal, Murray travels to New York intending to return at the US Open. But two days before the tournament he announces that he is pulling out, saying his hip is too sore.

September 6 – Murray heads home for further consultations with a number of hip specialists then announces he is likely to miss the rest of the year but is hoping to avoid surgery.

January 8 2018 – Murray announces he has undergone hip surgery in Melbourne.

March 28 – Murray posts his first picture on social media after returning to on-court training at Patrick Mouratoglou’s academy in Nice.

May 8 – After Murray does not enter a Challenger tournament in Glasgow that had been earmarked for his return, it emerges he has suffered a setback in his recovery and has been forced to take more time away from the court.

June 19 – A lengthy 342 days since his last competitive outing, Murray returns in the Fever-Tree Championships against Nick Kyrgios. He puts up a good fight but loses 2-6 7-6 (7/4) 7-5.

June 25 – Recorded his first win after almost a year out, beating three-time grand slam champion Wawrinka 6-1 6-3 in 77 minutes at Eastbourne.

July 1 – Admits defeat in his bid to make Wimbledon and withdraws from the tournament.