Andy Murray has withdrawn from the Australian Open to fully focus on recovering from an ongoing hip injury.

The three-time Grand Slam champion has not played a competitive match since Wimbledon and pulled out of the warm-up tournament in Brisbane earlier this week.

"Sadly I won't be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete," Murray said in a short statement.

Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Show all 13 1 /13 Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Andy Murray's troubled season After a superb end to 2016, Andy Murray started the season as the World No 1, but things did not go according to plan. Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Qatar Open - Runner-up Murray's incredible sequence of 28-straight victories was ended by Novak Djokovic in an epic Doha final. Murray won the second set but eventually lost 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win in 2hr 54min. Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Australian Open - 4th Round Murray's hopes of winning a first Australian Open title were ended by World No 50 Mischa Zverev: the lowest-ranked player he had lost to at a Grand Slam since the 2006 Aussie Open. Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Dubai Open - Champion The Scot saw off Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in straight sets to win his first title of the season. But he failed to build on that form. AFP/Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Indian Wells - 2nd Round Murray was broken four times by the qualifier Vasek Pospisil, with the World No 129's serve-and-volley tactics catching Murray completely unaware. Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Miami Open - Withdrew Rocked by his defeat to Pospisil, Murray withdrew from the Miami Open because of an injury to his right elbow. "The focus is on getting ready for the clay-court season," he said. Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Monte-Carlo Masters - 3rd Round The results on clay were not any better than what came before. Murray lost in Monte Carlo on only his second match, to the clay-court specialist Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Barcelona Open - Semi-finals Victories over Feliciano López and revenge against Ramos-Vinolas offered hope that Murray was returning to form. But defeat in the semi-finals followed, to the promising Dominic Thiem. AFP/Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Madrid Open - 3rd Round "There were a lot of things that weren't particularly good today," Murray remarked after making 55 unforced errors to the 20-year-old Borna Coric. He lost in straight-sets, 6-3 6-3. Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Italian Open - 2nd Round Murray failed to win a single match at the Italian Open, which he won in 2016. World No 29 Fabio Fognini produced one of the finest performances of his career to win 6-2 6-4. Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 French Open - Semi-finals Murray was unable to repeat his performance in 2016, when he reached the final, but he began to grow into some form in Paris. Beat the likes of Juan Martin del Potro, Karen Khachanov and Kei Nishikori in impressive fashion before eventually running out of gas against Stan Wawrinka, in an epic five-setter. Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Queen's Club - 1st Round Murray crashed out of Queen's to lucky loser Jordan Thompson; one of his worst results on grass in several years. Getty Andy Murray's difficult 2017 Wimbledon - Quarter-finals The defending champion and top seed lost to Sam Querrey in five-sets, which leaves his World No 1 ranking under immediate threat for the very first time. Getty

"I'll be flying home shortly to assess all the options but I appreciate all the messages of support and I hope to be back playing soon."

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley added: "We are fully aware that Andy has been going through a difficult period with his hip and that he's done everything possible to prepare for the Australian summer.

"Personally, I also know that Andy loves tennis and would do anything to play. This is a very hard decision for Andy and we totally respect it.

"We wish him the absolute best on his road to recovery and look forward to having him back in Melbourne. He is a true champion and one of our favourites."

The Scot released a statement on his social media pages on Tuesday where he admitted he was considering surgery to assess the problem, though his preference is to continue rehab and hope that prompts a recovery.

The text was posted alongside a picture of Murray as a child.

2017 was a difficult year for Murray (Getty)

"I chose this pic as the little kid inside me just wants to play tennis and compete," he said.