TENNIS : ANDY MURRAY FACES BIGGEST CAREER THREAT AS DREADED HIP SURGERY LOOMS !

TENNIS : ANDY MURRAY FACES BIGGEST CAREER THREAT AS DREADED HIP SURGERY LOOMS !

British icon Andy Murray looks beset by the inevitable, as he is now forced to face what could be the biggest threat of his career - - a dreaded hip surgery that may signal the beginning of the end of his illustrious career.

Hip surgeries, once done on tennis players in years past, they never became the same players, again.

In a long, stark and gloomy post on Instagram, Andy Murray confirmed for the very first time, the feared surgery was a second option, but admitted he may now have to consider it.

"Let's hope not," he averred.

Andy Murray @AndyMurray - - the greatest tennis player in British history - - suddenly pulled out of Brisbane International Monday, due to his recurring hip injury.

Brisbane International, held in Brisbane Australia, is a prelude to one of Australia's biggest sporting events, The Australian Open @AustralianOpen, which kick-starts 15 January.

Murray announced he may wait a couple of days before deciding whether to stay in Australia and attempt to play at the Australian Open or fly back home to Britain, to finally address the issue.

In his poignant and rather emotional Instagram post - - untypical of his usual Scottish warrior spirit - - Andy Murray used one of his childhood photos, saying he chose this as it is "the little kid inside me (who) just wants to play tennis."

"I wanted to keep everyone in the loop, and get this off my chest, as it is really hurting inside", he confided.

Andy Murray has been out of competitive tennis since Wimbledon in July, later pulling out of the US Open in August, two days before the tournament - - due to the same nagging hip injury issue.

"I didn't realise until these last few months, how much I love this game", he opened up.

Andy Murray, now 30, is a 3-Time Grand Slam Champion and a back-to-back Olympic Champion - - the only man to win the Olympics Men's Singles, two times.

He is one of the "Big Four" - - alongside with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic - - an elite quad which has dominated world tennis for many years.

He was Knighted by Prince William in 2016.

If indeed the end is near, in a sport where 30 seems to be the new 20, is it too quick, too soon for Andy?

"Let's hope not".

- - - Sports24.news

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British number one Andy Murray has withdrawn from the Brisbane International because of a hip injury.

👉 https://t.co/vF8gtfMuyn pic.twitter.com/ARtJpO5HkI
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray a huge doubt for Australian Open https://t.co/VqBCCsbYoa pic.twitter.com/LnQ5gKmbTu
— Sun Sport (@SunSport) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray has withdrawn from this week's Brisbane International due to long-term issues with his right hip and has said he may need surgery https://t.co/cSHDgL8pFz pic.twitter.com/rPysRoe3LS
— CNN (@CNN) January 2, 2018

BREAKING: Andy Murray withdraws from Brisbane International due to hip injury. #SSN pic.twitter.com/Of3djWRWZx
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 2, 2018

This doesn't sound good.

Andy Murray is considering surgery after withdrawing from the Brisbane International.

It's that long-term hip injury! 😩

More: https://t.co/vF8gtfMuyn pic.twitter.com/6LcKzDvrAq
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 2, 2018

Hey everyone.. Just wanted to write a little message on here for anyone interested in what in going through right now. Firstly I want to apologise to @brisbanetennis for withdrawing at late notice and to everyone who wanted to come along to watch me play(or lose😇) The organisers couldn't have been more understanding and supportive and I'll always remember that. Thank you. 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. In the short term I'm going to be staying in Australia for the next couple of days to see if my hip settles down a bit and will decide by the weekend whether to stay out here or fly home to assess what I do next. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to keep everyone in the loop and get this off my chest as it's really hurting inside. Hope to see you back on the court soon 🎾😢❤️
A post shared by Andy Murray (@andymurray) on Jan 2, 2018 at 1:23am PST

Worrying news for Andy Murray and British Tennis fans ahead of the Australian Open 
Posted by Eurosport on Tuesday, 2 January 2018

Hey everyone.. Just wanted to write a little message on here for anyone interested in what in going through right...
Posted by Andy Murray on Tuesday, 2 January 2018

Andy Murray's Australian Open plans just suffered another huge blow https://t.co/pbuoAqXPn5
— The Independent (@Independent) January 2, 2018

BREAKING: Andy Murray's Australian Open in jeopardy as British No.1 pulls out of Brisbane International with hip injury https://t.co/0Nu5NJ5Nmn pic.twitter.com/WltS7mYdnR
— Mirror Sport (@MirrorSport) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray is considering surgery after having to withdraw from the Brisbane International https://t.co/Bs8UL2md14 pic.twitter.com/37NwXP5fTR
— Bloomberg (@business) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray has withdrawn from this week's Brisbane International due to long-term issues with his right hip and has said he may need surgery https://t.co/tiv3oAEdGU pic.twitter.com/LFeoOiqUhK
— CNN International (@cnni) January 2, 2018

"I didn't realize until these last few months just how much I love this game." @andy_murray pens an emotion update on his injury status and vows to return to the court as soon as possible. https://t.co/myk59DCOLa #USOpen pic.twitter.com/WncvBPtOdi
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) January 2, 2018

.@andy_murray makes a heartfelt statement to fans. https://t.co/2ltAFIxCWn pic.twitter.com/xPy02Linpn
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray’s status for the Australian Open appears in doubt as he says a hip injury hasn’t fully healed. https://t.co/rBWY3j4NhP
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray facing six months out if he opts to have hip injury as #AustralianOpen hopes fade https://t.co/5Ts334FXOP
— Telegraph Sport (@TelegraphSport) January 2, 2018

❓Andy Murray
❓Novak Djokovic

Some big names may not be competing at the Australian Open: https://t.co/unNo7OpRCI pic.twitter.com/e47kxLtYys
— CNN Sport (@cnnsport) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray considering hip surgery with Australian Open campaign now in doubt | @samueljlovett https://t.co/foIKj6jnAa pic.twitter.com/s1pf9NkOXz
— Indy Sport (@IndySport) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray has unfortunately had to withdraw from the Brisbane International due to a right hip complaint pic.twitter.com/trjo0Vovym
— #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray posts emotional Instagram message as fears grow for his tennis futurehttps://t.co/X1ANYBhJ30 pic.twitter.com/c7oA1DLlkQ
— Daily Record Sport (@Record_Sport) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray says he may have to consider surgery after withdrawing from the Brisbane International. 🎾 https://t.co/jS4Yl1M62z pic.twitter.com/OJodyyy6Ef
— BBC (@BBC) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray considering hip surgery as career hangs in the balance. By @kevinmitchell50 https://t.co/vSIhjS3lqI pic.twitter.com/RVppSYDXiV
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray opens up about injury heartbreak in emotional message as he admits he may need surgeryhttps://t.co/i2CAWroSQ8 pic.twitter.com/qHF2X9R03D
— Mirror Sport (@MirrorSport) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray pulls out of Brisbane International as comeback plan is halted as he pens heartfelt message to fans https://t.co/BW3mB9SMag pic.twitter.com/6i2v6E0UWw
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray has published an emotional Instagram post after he was forced to pull out of another tournament with injury.

More: https://t.co/vF8gtfMuyn pic.twitter.com/P5kM8m6imZ
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray's Agony. In the first show of 2018, the @TennisPodcast team respond to his gut-wrenching statement https://t.co/Y7oWuBXyEj
— Telegraph Sport (@TelegraphSport) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray posts heartfelt message about his ongoing injury struggles:
"I wanted to keep everyone in the loop and get this off my chest as it's really hurting inside."
Read: https://t.co/yLCbJKKJjQ pic.twitter.com/Rhbcw6oX6X
— TENNIS.com (@Tennis) January 3, 2018

Andy Murray is considering surgery to resolve the hip injury that has forced him to postpone the start to his season: https://t.co/AR0chg8yU9 pic.twitter.com/nB64AOwUha
— Sky Sports Tennis 🎾 (@SkySportsTennis) January 2, 2018

Worrying news for Andy Murray & British tennis fans ahead of the Australian Open 😨 pic.twitter.com/xEizjcJ4wx
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) January 2, 2018

With the Australian Open just 13 days away, Andy Murray has suffered another injury blow.

Full story: https://t.co/vF8gtfuT9N pic.twitter.com/zCRJxiDJzC
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 2, 2018

It wasn't the news Andy Murray was hoping for https://t.co/hAJUfbk0m9
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) January 2, 2018

Andy #Murray is a major doubt for the Australian Open after pulling out of the Brisbane International with a hip injury.

More >>> https://t.co/WhIMIJSTJ6 pic.twitter.com/eygzkPduMp
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) January 2, 2018

Disappointing news from @andy_murray !Very heartfelt and fingers crossed his hip can heal soon ! pic.twitter.com/uiUpJtaHce
— Annabel Croft (@Annabel_Croft) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray says he may have to consider surgery after withdrawing from the Brisbane International.

More: https://t.co/vF8gtfMuyn pic.twitter.com/rStRWlVuDs
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 2, 2018

.@Andy_Murray is out with injury.@GarbiMuguruza retires.

Big name withdrawals continue to hurt the early season tournaments.: https://t.co/07zQXyNExP pic.twitter.com/9akv1bHSjL
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) January 2, 2018

WATCH
⚽️ @stokecity consider Mark Hughes position
💰 Is @DavidLuiz_4 joining @Arsenal & do @ChelseaFC want Chellini?
🎾 @andy_murray to consider surgery ahead of @AustralianOpen

More: https://t.co/l5SO7eAkix pic.twitter.com/h63ThoRBb0
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 2, 2018

Andy Murray considers surgery after hip fails to recover https://t.co/IksKctT9ns pic.twitter.com/IGhvuWLC91
— STV News (@STVNews) January 2, 2018

More bad news for Andy Murray, who's been missing from Grand Slam action since Wimbledon.
Posted by BBC News on Tuesday, 2 January 2018

Quite the statement from Andy Murray. Here's hoping for a quick recovery
Posted by Edinburgh Evening News on Tuesday, 2 January 2018

Game on @andymurray.
A post shared by HEAD TENNIS (@headtennis_official) on Dec 29, 2017 at 7:07am PST

#Repost @andymurray ・・・ Hey everyone.. Just wanted to write a little message on here for anyone interested in what in going through right now. Firstly I want to apologise to @brisbanetennis for withdrawing at late notice and to everyone who wanted to come along to watch me play(or lose😇) The organisers couldn't have been more understanding and supportive and I'll always remember that. Thank you. 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. In the short term I'm going to be staying in Australia for the next couple of days to see if my hip settles down a bit and will decide by the weekend whether to stay out here or fly home to assess what I do next. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to keep everyone in the loop and get this off my chest as it's really hurting inside. Hope to see you back on the court soon 🎾😢❤️
A post shared by Brisbane International (@brisbanetennis) on Jan 2, 2018 at 1:35am PST