Andy Murray timeline: How long will he be out with ankle injury? Will he be fit for Wimbledon and French Open?
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Published 27/03/2024 at 07:37 GMT
When will Andy Murray return from his ankle injury? What's the timeline for his recovery and will he be fit for Wimbledon and the grass season? Murray suffered the ankle issue in his defeat to Tomas Machac at the Miami Open and has said he is going to miss an "extended period" but will "be back". Wimbledon starts on July 1 and is followed by the Olympic tennis event at Roland-Garros on July 27.
Murray v Machac - Miami Open highlights
Andy Murray has said he will be out for an “extended period” after suffering an ankle injury in his defeat to Tomas Machac at the Miami Open.
Murray, 36, almost won the third-round match despite the injury, which saw him hopping in agony in the 10th game of the final set, but was beaten 5-7 7-5 7-6(5).
Murray revealed afterwards that he has suffered a “full rupture of my ATFL [anterior talo-fibular ligament] and near full thickness rupture of my CFL [calcaneofibular ligament]” and is set to see an ankle specialist on his return to the UK.
Having previously said that he is unlikely to play beyond this summer, this injury setback could impact on Murray's plans.
How long will Murray be out for?
Murray has only said so far that he will miss an “extended period”.
He also declared that he will “be back” – but when, though?
It has been reported by the Times that the recovery time for a ruptured ATFL can take at least six weeks, and could be up to 12.
With the more optimistic timeline of six weeks, if Murray makes good progress then he might be back on court by early May.
However, it seems likely that his ankle injury will scupper his hopes of playing the European clay swing.
Murray has previously said that he wants to play the French Open one last time, but with the Grand Slam starting on May 26, he might not have much time to prepare for it even if his recovery goes as smoothly as possible.
Instead, it seems to make more sense that he would focus his attentions on getting ready for the grass swing.
Will Murray be fit for Wimbledon?
If Murray is to step away from tennis after the summer then it has been widely predicted that his final tournament could be Wimbledon or the Olympics.
Murray has won Wimbledon twice and grass remains his favourite surface.
If his ankle recovery goes well, he could start his preparations for Wimbledon by trying to defend his Surbiton and Nottingham titles in early June, before moving on to Queen’s.
Wimbledon starts on July 1 and is followed by the Olympic tennis event at Roland-Garros on July 27.
As the current British No. 4, Murray is not guaranteed to make the Great Britain team for the Olympics and has said he only wants to play if he has a chance of winning a medal.
He could have a better chance of doing that in doubles rather than singles.
Could ankle injury delay Murray’s retirement plans?
“Life in the old dog yet,” was Murray’s message after beating Matteo Berrettini in his opening match in Miami.
Yet while Murray might have looked refreshed over the last week, it appears he is bracing himself to finish his career this summer.
“I am looking forward to the end now,” he said after his defeat to Machac. “Give my best the next few months and get to be at home with my family.”
That was before the severity of his ankle injury was revealed, though.
If Murray’s recovery timeline puts his Wimbledon plans in jeopardy, could he play on beyond the summer?
His run at the Miami Open might have given him some pause for thought.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2024/03/20/3933800-79908768-2560-1440.jpg)
Fired up Murray defeats Berrettini to progress - Miami Open highlights
He played his best tennis of the year to reach the third round and could have beaten Machac, even though he looked in agony after injuring his ankle.
He was aiming for three-straight wins at Masters 1000 level or above for the first time since 2017 – and looked on track for that until Machac fought back from 5-3 down in the third set tie-breaker.
Despite the loss, Murray was left feeling “pretty positive” with his overall showing in Miami.
“There were some good signs in my game,” said Murray.
“Definitely an improvement on the last few tournaments, not perfect, but considering everything to be winning matches against the players I did and pushing Tomas like I did today, I’m proud of myself because it’s extremely difficult to do what I’m doing with the issue that I have.
"To still be able to compete with these guys is a credit to myself and the work that I’ve done and the effort that I’ve put into this to keep myself in this position.”
- - -
Stream the 2024 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement