04:18

Fevered speculation about Andy Murray’s retirement plans refuses to die down just days after his early exit from the Australian Open, and his team on Friday were forced to deny that he has already committed to having surgery on his hip.

The former world No1 probably will have an operation to resurface the hip bone, using a metal implant, but organisers of the Marseilles tournament from which he has withdrawn made the false assumption in an announcement that he had already decided to do so.

A spokesman for Murray said, “No decision has been made about an operation, but he had already decided to withdraw from all tournaments. He will make a further announcement with a week or so.”

The Marseilles tournament press release said, “Still suffering from hip, Andy Murray will undergo further surgery and therefore had to forfeit upcoming tournaments, including the Open 13 Provence.”It quoted Murray as saying, “It’s a blow, but I have no choice.”