Andy Murray hit with another injury blow as setback rules him out of Montpellier comeback

Andy Murray faces a longer lay-off than expected after failing to recover from his pelvic injury.

The 32-year-old had pulled out of the Australian Open but had planned to make his season debut at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier at the start of next month.

But Murray today pulled out of Montpellier as well as the subsequent ATP event in Rotterdam the following week, and admitted he had no idea when he might be back in competition.

“The bone bruising is taking longer to heal than first thought, so I won’t be playing in Montpellier or Rotterdam in February,” he said. “I don’t want to rush anything or put a timeline on my recovery, I’m going to listen to my body and step back on the court to compete when the time is right.”

Murray last played at the season-ending Davis Cup but pulled out after an initial appearance at the finals with the complaint, which he was confident would be quickly remedied.

But it caused him to cancel his Christmas training block in Miami as well as miss the entire leg of the Australian season as well as ruling him out of his first two scheduled events in February.