Andy Murray has been ruled out of Wimbledon after undergoing spinal surgery.
The three-time Grand Slam winner retired injured in the first set of his second-round match against Jordan Thompson at Queen’s Club on Wednesday.
Murray had scans to determine the extent of the problem which left his right leg numb just before he came out to play Thompson, and they culminated in the Scot undergoing surgery on a spinal cyst on Saturday.
The 37-year-old was gearing up to play at Wimbledon, which begins on July 1, for what was expected to be his last appearance at the Grand Slam but those plans have been dashed.
He now faces around six weeks out, which also puts his participation at this summer’s Olympics in Paris in serious doubt.
The ATP tweeted: “After an operation on a spinal cyst, Andy Murray is sadly out of Wimbledon. Rest up and recover Andy, we’ll miss seeing you there.”
Speaking after his Queen’s retirement, Murray said: “During my pre-match warm-up I was pretty uncomfortable and then I walked up the stairs, just before going on the court, I didn’t have the normal strength in my right leg. It was not a usual feeling.
“Then the first two balls I hit in the warm-up, my right leg, it was, like, so uncoordinated. I had no coordination. Then, yeah, my right leg just was not working properly.
“In hindsight I wish I hadn’t gone on there because it was pretty awkward for everyone.
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Andy Murray rues going on the court after retiring with a back injury during his match against Australian Jordan Thompson at the Queen’s Club.
“There is nothing I could do, and then there is part of you that wants to go out there and see if it gets better, you know, and maybe feel better with a bit of treatment or something, but that wasn’t the case.”
Murray tried to play through the pain before eventually he had to withdraw from the match at Queen’s, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd as he waved to the spectators.
Murray, who only returned to action last month after eight weeks out due to damaging ankle ligaments in late March, had targeted playing in the singles tournament and the men’s doubles alongside his brother Jamie at Wimbledon.
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Former British tennis player Naomi Broady looks into what the future may hold for fellow Brits Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu
The Olympic Games in Paris follows Wimbledon with Murray named in Great Britain’s squad after the International Tennis Federation awarded him a place having won singles gold in London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Tennis at the Olympics begins on July 27, with Murray nominated to play singles and men’s doubles with Dan Evans.
He has indicated he will retire after this summer.
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