Andy Murray has said he is considering surgery after withdrawing from the Brisbane International because of his long-term hip injury.
The 30-year-old revealed that he is 'hurting inside' after being forced to pull out of the tournament.
He is now considering surgery as a 'secondary option' if his continuing rehabilitation is not successful.
The former Wimbledon champion has fallen to 16th in the world, having not played since July.
Andy shared a picture of his younger self adding that he would 'give anything to be back out there'.
The post reads: "I've obviously been going through a really difficult period with my hip for a long time and have sought council from a number of hip specialists.
"Having been recommended to treat my hip conservatively since the US Open I have done everything asked of me from a rehab perspective and worked extremely hard to try get back on the court competing.
"Having played practice sets here in Brisbane with some top players unfortunately this hasn't worked yet to get me to the level I would like so I have to reassess my options.
"Obviously continuing rehab is one option and giving my hip more time to recover.
"Surgery is also an option but the chances of a successful outcome are not as I high as I would like which has made this my secondary option and my hope has been to avoid that.
"However this is something I may have to consider but let's hope not.
"I choose this pic as the little kid inside me just wants to play tennis and compete.
"I genuinely miss it so much and i would give anything to be back out there.
"I didn't realise until these last few months just how much I love this game.
"Everytime I wake up from sleeping or napping i hope that it's better and it's quite demoralising when you get on the court it's not at the level you need it to be to compete at this level."
The tennis ace will be staying in Australia and will decide by the weekend whether to fly home to assess what he does next.
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