Murray To Have Back Surgery; Unlikely To Play This Year

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 20th September 2013

Murray To Have Back Surgery; Unlikely To Play This Year

epa03849874 Andy Murray of Great Britain reacts after losing a point to Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan during their match on the ninth day of the 2013 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 03 September 2013. The US Open runs through Monday 09 September, a 15-day schedule for the first time. EPA/JASON DECROW |

Winning Wimbledon and leading Britain back into the Davis Cup’s elite World Group comes with a price as Andy Murray has found out after the world no.3 was told he is unlikely to play again this year after agreeing to undergo ‘minor’ back surgery next week.

The 26 year-old Scot has suffered a certain amount of intermittent pain around his lower spine for the last 18 months and it was the reason he missed this summer’s French Open. At the US Open Murray was accompanied by physiotherapist Mark Bender, who specializes in back issues, but still managed to make it through to the quarterfinals.

Then he made the difficult surface switch from hard-court to clay and last weekend played three days in a row, winning impressively each time, in Britain’s Davis Cup World Group Play-off against Croatia in Umag.

But he repeatedly has showed signs of back pain on court and habitually grabs at his lower vertebrae at times of stress. His media representative Matt Gentry, managing director of Murray’s newly formed company 77, issued a statement in London yesterday, announcing the surgery and the fact the player would not be contesting the three Asian tournaments of his itinerary; next week’s Thailand Open in Bangkok, the Rakuten Japan Open in Thailand the following week and Shanghai’s Rolex Masters beginning October 6.

Gentry’s statement said Murray definitely plans to be ready to attend his annual ‘boot camp’ in Miami that follows it but that his participation in the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at London’s o2 Arena event is unsure.

“Next week Andy is set to undergo minor back surgery in an effort to clear up a longstanding back problem,’ the statement read. He will definitely miss tournaments in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai.

“The issue flared up during the Italian Open in Rome this year when Andy was forced to retire and he sought advice from a range of specialists. After recently playing on hard courts and clay, Andy once again sought medical advice about solving the issue once and for all. The aim is to be fully fit for the new season.”

Murray is now at a stage of his career where he has to prioritize events and for him the Grand Slams are now paramount. Therefore this is a logical time of the year to have surgery and the insistence from within his camp is that after the procedure he will be fully fit to mount a campaign for the Australian Open in January and then take his place in Great Britain’s Davis Cup team against the USA in early February.

Gentry refused to be specific on the actual nature of the surgery but it is understood that Murray will be undergoing a micro discectomy to release the pressure on his sciatic nerve. Playing on clay is a particular issue to Murray. Because of the slow speed of the court, players generally have to rotate their back more while hitting shots on the surface and Murray immediately consulted specialists on his return from Umag.

The procedure is keyhole surgery via a one-inch incision in the midline of the lower back, performed with an instrument or laser while the surgeon looks through an operating microscope or magnifying glasses.

Basically it is to remove herniated disc material that presses on a nerve root or the spinal cord. England’s former football (soccer) captain John Terry underwent a similar operation seven years ago and was back playing for his club Chelsea within eight weeks.

Given that time scale Chris Kermode, tournament director of the ATP World Tour Finals, remains optimistic Murray will be able to take his place in the season-ending event, which begins on November 4. But in reality the hopes are slim.

By virtue of the ATP World Tour Finals being staged in London, Murray is a major draw for spectators. If he does not recover in time, it would be the first time he has missed the year-ending finale since first qualifying in 2008. The only consolation Kermode and the rest of the ATP hierarchy could be the Scot’s absence would probably ensure the participation of Roger Federer, who is in danger of not qualifying after his poor run over the summer.

Stefan Edberg, a six times Grand Slam champion, suffered lower back pain throughout his later career and said last night: “You can bluff your way through injuries for a while.

“I guess that is what Andy has been doing, but you can’t keep ignoring a back injury if you are always in pain. It shows what an incredible win it was for him at Wimbledon. It also shows that sometimes it can take pressure off you if you think to yourself that you are not at your best.”

Edberg added: “Rafa Nadal was out of the sport for eight months and came back stronger than ever to win two slams. It shows that sometimes it is worth it.”

Murray used his Twitter account to inform fans late on Thursday night: “Having operation on Monday. Will let everyone know how it goes. I’ll be ‘back’ stronger.”

The recently retired Jamie Baker, a lifelong friend, Davis Cup team-mate and fellow Scot said: “Andy does have a knack of always looking in pain, but this is something he feels is the right thing to do and we have to trust him.

“We can’t underestimate how tough emotionally the last 12 months has been, so it’s understandable if he’s a little bit burned out, and this break will give him the best chance of picking up more major titles next year.”

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Australian Open, Davis Cup, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Stefan Edberg, Tennis, US Open, Usta, Wimbledon

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