Andy Murray issues unexpected injury update as he keeps retirement dream alive

Andy Murray’s hopes of bringing down the curtain on his tennis career with a final appearance in front of his home fans at Wimbledon in July appeared to be over after he injured ankle ligaments at the Miami Open last month, but he has fuelled hopes of another improbable comeback.

Murray was injured late on in his third-round defeat by Tomas Machac at the Miami Open on March 24, with the scale of his injury sparking fears he may have struck his last ball as a professional player.

The timing was cruel for the three-time Grand Slam champion, who had won back-to-back matches for the first time this year in Miami, who had already confirmed that he is unlikely to play beyond this summer as retirement looms ever nearer.

After crying out in pain and falling to the floor, he was able to complete the match following on-court treatment but revealed in an Instagram post that he had seriously damaged two ligaments in his left ankle.

“Towards the end of my match in Miami I suffered a full rupture of my ATFL and near full thickness rupture of my CFL,” said Murray, as he confirmed the scale of his injury on Instagram.

“I will see an ankle specialist when I return home to determine 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 one hip and no ankle ligaments when the time is right.”

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Now there are signs that the player who recovered from hip surgery in 2019 to make a return to the court is eyeing up another improbable comeback.

A spokesperson from Murray’s team said the former world No 1’s “rehab is going well and he is hoping to start hitting again on court soon” but added that “he doesn’t have a date yet for returning to competition”.

The positive news for Murray is he doesn’t need to undergo surgery, which could leave him on the sidelines for several months, but it there still have to be doubts over whether he can bounce back in time to play a full part in the grass court season that gets underway in the first week of June.

This kind of injury can take up to 10 weeks to heal, which would push Murray’s latest comeback into the first week of June.

Murray has been in an Aircast boot for the first phase of his recovery, with massage helping to increase the blood flow around the ankle and speed up the healing process.

Specialist treatment can trim down his recovery timescale, with news that he is already out of his protective boot suggesting he is making good progress.

This injury is common for athletes and England soccer captain Harry Kane is an example of a player who has come back relatively quickly from this kind of injury, with modern recovery technologies giving Murray a chance to play at Wimbledon for one last time in July.

It is unclear if he will be fit for Wimbledon, which gets underway on July 1, while the Olympic Games in Paris – which the two-time gold medallist said he would like to play at – starts on July 26.