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Andy Murray took home yet another award this week, as he was crowned the BBC Sports Personality of the Year by the adoring British public. The world No. 4 has been sidelined from tennis competition since September, after suffering a back injury that required minor surgery. He has not taken part in any ATP Tour competition since his quarter-finals exit at the US Open.

The British player stated that he is happy with his recovery but is having a hard time predicting his performance in a high intensity match until the time comes to step out in the court in January.

“The back is getting much better,” Murray told BBC Sport. “It’s hard to know how it will respond in a match but the signs have been good and the 10 to 15 days I put in before a match will be key as I’ll be testing my body in lots of practice matches.

As an athlete you’re used to throwing your body around and doing physical training, but when you have surgery you need to take a step back and the whole process is tedious and long, but I’m close to coming out the other side of it.”

The 26-year-old is currently training in Miami in preparation for the season-opening Grand Slam event, which takes place in Melbourne on 13 January.

Murray’s return is a highly anticipated one, as the British star gained extraordinary fandom following his historic win at the Wimbledon championships in June, when he defeated top seed Novak Djokovic to become the first British male singles champion in 77 years. The win was an incredible moment for Murray, but more importantly, lifted an immense burden from his shoulders.

“I maybe let people down over the years but they stuck by me. I’ll try to repay their faith. I know I’ve not always been the easiest person to support but I’ve been under a lot of pressure for a long time so I’m just really pleased to break through,

The support I got at Wimbledon this year was by far the best I’d ever had. None of the other Wimbledons could compare to this.”