Hip surgery will NOT help extend Sir Andy Murray’s glittering tennis career

June 9, 2017 – Sir Andy puts his shaky form going into the French Open behind him to reach the semi-finals before losing to Swiss ace Stan Wawrinka; but begins to feel the flare-up of a long-standing hip issue that had been under control

June 27, 2017 – Sir Andy does not mention his hip problem after losing his first match at Queen’s to Jordan Thompson but is forced to publicly acknowledge it when he pulls out of a scheduled exhibition match at the Hurlingham Club, a move cited as precautionary

July 2, 2017 – After pulling out of a second Hurlingham match, Sir Andy calms fears he may be forced to miss Wimbledon by confirming on the eve of the tournament he will play

July 12, 2017 – Walking with a noticeable limp, Sir Andy battles his way into the quarter-finals but his title defence ends with a five-set loss to Sam Querrey. Afterwards, the Scot insists he does not expect to be away from the tour for too long

August 26, 2017 – After pulling out of two Masters events and losing his world No.1 ranking to Rafael Nadal, Sir Andy travels to New York, intending to return at the US Open. But two days before the tournament he announces at a press conference he is pulling out, saying his hip is too sore to give him a chance of winning the tournament

September 6, 2017 – Sir Andy heads home for further consultations with a number of hip specialists then announces he is likely to miss the rest of the year but is hoping to avoid surgery

January 2, 2018 – Sir Andy schedules the Brisbane International for his second attempt at a comeback only to pull out on the eve of his first match. In a heartfelt post on Instagram accompanied by a childhood photo, he says: ‘I choose this pic as the little kid inside me just wants to play tennis and compete. I genuinely miss it so much and I would give anything to be back out there.’

January 8, 2018 – Sir Andy announces he has undergone hip surgery in Melbourne. In an upbeat assessment, he added surgeon John O’Donnell is very happy and he is targeting a return for the grass-court season

March 28, 2018 – Sir Andy posts his first picture on social media after returning to on-court training at Patrick Mouratoglou’s academy in Nice

May 8, 2018 – After Sir Andy does not enter a Challenger tournament in Glasgow that had been earmarked for his return, it emerges he has suffered a setback in his recovery and has been forced to take more time away from the court

June 5, 2018 – Sir Andy says he is ‘getting closer’ to a return but pulls out of his scheduled first grass event of the season at the Libema Open in Holland

June 16, 2018 – After two weeks back on court, Sir Andy announces just before the draw he will make his comeback at the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen’s Club

June 19, 2018 – A lengthy 342 days since his last competitive outing, Sir Andy finally makes it back on court in the Fever-Tree Championships against Nick Kyrgios. He puts up a good fight but eventually loses his first-round match 2-6, 7-6 (7/4) 7-5.

June 25, 2018 – Sir Andy beats Wawrinka at Eastbourne but is then comfortably dispatched in the round of 16 by British No.1 Kyle Edmund as he continues to feel his way back into games

July 30, 2018 – Sir Andy’s fans grow in confidence at the Scot’s increased participation and a run to the quarter-finals – where he is beaten due to a walkover for Alex de Minaur – suggests he is slowly on the rise again

August 13, 2018 – A first round exit to Lucas Pouille shows Sir Andy is struggling to recapture the form that saw him go on to win Wimbledon twice as his hip issues see him hold back in three-set match

August 30, 2018 – In only his fifth tournament back since returning from hip surgery, Sir Andy falters in four sets against Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the US Open second round as the sweltering conditions did little to help his cause. His noticeable limp between points became more and more obvious

September 28, 2018 – A quarter-final defeat in Shenzen to Verdasco sees Murray call time on the 2018 season as he takes time away to get himself in the best possible condition for the 2019 Australian Open

December 27, 2018 – Despite some time away since losing to Verdasco in Asia, Sir Andy admits the pain is still prominent as he prepares to play in the Brisbane International – a warm-up tournament for the Australian Open. In his last-16 tie against Russian star Daniil Medvedev, Sir Andy is comfortably beaten 7-5, 6-2 as fears grow over the condition of his hip 

January 10, 2019 – Leaves Australian Open press conference in tears and suggests his time in Melbourne could be his last Grand Slam tournament due to the pain being too much to continue playing through

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk