Andy Murray’s hopes of competing at Wimbledon are still alive after it was confirmed the Scot would not undergo surgery on his injured ankle. The two-time Wimbledon winner injured his ankle ligaments at the recent Miami Open, but no timescale on his return has been given.
A spokesperson for the tennis star said on Monday: “The latest update from Andy is that he is now out of the walking boot and will not be having surgery on his ankle. His rehab is going well and he is hoping to start hitting again on court soon. As yet he doesn’t have a date yet for returning to competition.”
It was confirmed in March that Murray had ruptured his anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) and he also tore his calcaneofibular ligament (CFL). The injury came during his dramatic 7-5, 5-7, 6-7 (5) loss to Tomas Machac in the second round of the Miami Open.
Murray joked about the injury after his Miami Open exit by saying: “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.”
It’s now less than seven months until Wimbledon gets underway, with Murray facing a race against time to be fit for the championship. It looks like it will be the 36-year-old’s last chance to feature at the iconic tournament, having confirmed plans to retire at the end of the calendar year.
Speaking earlier this year, Murray side: “I’m likely not going to play past this summer. I get asked about it after every single match that I play, every single tournament that I play. I’m bored of the question, to be honest.
“I’m not going to talk more about that between now and whenever the time comes for me to stop. But, yes, I don’t plan on playing much past this summer.”
He added: “When the time is right I will probably say something before I play my last match and my last tournament. Whether I say anything months ahead of the time I don’t know.
“There’s no right way of finishing your career and everyone is different so what might be the right way for [Roger] Federer might not be the right way for [Rafael] Nadal, might not be the right way for [Novak] Djokovic.”
