Well, I'd like to start this post off on a positive note and wish everyone a Happy New Year and let's hope 2018 is a good one.
However, there is one man that could be in for a particualrly tough 2018 and that man is Andy Murray, the tennis world's former World No.1, who for the past six months has been struggling physically with a hip injury. So, far Andy has tried extensive rehab to try and get himself fit and well for the new tennis season but unfortunately so far the rehab hasn't worked out the way Andy would have liked.
So, this post will look at Andy's injury woes over the past six months and his possible options going ahead.
THE INJURY SO FAR
Well, the injury resulted after Andy's gruelling French open campaign where he put in a great run to the semi finals but he was ultimately defeated by the former champion, Stan Wawrinka in a five set thriller. After this, Andy struggled badly at the start of the grass court season as he was beaten in the 1st round at the AEGON Championships event at Queens club in London, which sparked fears that Andy wouldn't be fit enough to play Wimbledon. However, those fears were abated as Andy managed to play at Wimbledon and got himself to the quarter finals where unfortunately this was where his troubles really began as he literally limped to a five set loss at the hands of the American big server, Sam Querrey.
After this, Andy withdrew from the upcoming Masters events but tried to get himself fit to play the US Open as he travelled to New York. However, unfortunately Andy was unable to compete as yet again, his hip problet let him down and he was forced to withdraw a day after the US Open draw had been announced, much to the annoyance of some tennis fans, who had hoped for a Roger vs Rafa final but ended being in the same half of the draw.
Not long after this, Andy confirmed he would miss the Asian swing of the tour and "most likely" would miss the final tournaments of his schedule in Vienna and Paris (he didn't have enough points to qualify for the year end finals at the o2 Arena in London). Andy however did not officially confirm his withdrawal from Vienna and Paris but it was a foregone conclusion that he would miss them anyway, which he did.
Andy however did manage to play his exhibition match with Roger Federer at the Hydro in Glasgow where he did put in a really good performance against the GOAT and took a set off Roger for the first time in three years before he lost in a champions tiebreak. The performance was an encouraging one although it had to be said that Andy's movement was still less than perfect.
And at the end of 2017, Andy went to practise in Abu Dhabi where an exhibition event takes place every year and after Novak Djokovic confirmed his withdrawal from the event, Andy took his place and played a one-set exhibition against the Spaniard, Robert Bautista-Agut. However, the match really highlighted Andy's hip problem once again as there were many points where he fail to chase down balls, which he normally would have gotten to with ease in the past. It was a big step back from his performance in Glasgow and it raised more concerns.
However, despite any fears, Andy still was drawn in the Brisbane International event where he would be expected to play Ryan Harrison in his first official match on the tour since Wimbledon last year. However, Andy once again was left frustrated by his hip injury and he was forced again to withdraw from the tournament and not long after he wrote a heartfelt and emotional post on his Instagram account, expressing his sadness and disappointment at not being able to compete and now he is considering surgery as an option to resolve his hip problem.
Andy also said that he would wait a few days before making his decision wether or not to play in Melbourne for the first major of the year, the Australian open. However, Andy, a few days after, decided to withdraw rather than take any risks and he will now travel back home to seek further advice on how he can move forward with his hip injury.
SO WHAT ARE ANDY'S OPTIONS
So, from here this leaves Andy two options: one, continue with his rehab or two, undergo surgery to resolve the hip injury but there are complications involved with both options. First off with the rehab, Andy has undergone this for the past five months and so far, it has been to no avail, which suggests that rehab is no longer a viable solution to his injury. Andy could try more rehab for a few more months but it looks like inevitably he will be back at square one as soon as he tries to get back on the court.
So, this leaves his only real viable option left: surgery. Now according to what I've been reading, there are two types of surgery that Andy can undergo, one is a surgery that would replace the hip, which would effectively end his career as the recovery time would be too long. The other option is to undergo keyhole surgery, which would see Andy out of the game for at least 6 months. Now, this on paper would sound like the better option but it is still said that there are no 100% guarantees that this will correct the hip injury. However given all that Andy has been through, it would sound like that the keyhole surgery is a gamble that he should possibly consider if he wants to get back on the court sooner rather than later.
IS THIS THE END FOR ANDY???
Well, this is a question neither myself or anyone can really can't answer just now. Andy is not in a good place just now of course and he will want to do all he can to get himself back to full fitness again if he can. I sincerely hope as an Andy Murray fan myself, that Andy still has a few years left in him before he retires. However in order for him to do so, he must now seriously consider whether more rehab or surgery is the way forward and to be honest from what we've seen so far, rehab is not working for him, so surgery looks like his only real option left open to him.
So, I can only hope Andy has some life left in him yet on the tennis court but time will tell as he himself will make a decision on a way forward in the forthcoming weeks. But one thing we do know about Andy Murray is, that his desire to compete and play tennis remains strong as ever and I'm sure he will do all he can to get himself back out and play the sport he loves most.
SIGN OFF
Right, well that's it for now and I will be back again sometime on this blog soon with an update on the Australian open once it get's underway.
So, until then its bye for now!
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