Andy Murray has said he will be sidelined for “an extended period” after confirming he ruptured ankle ligaments during his Miami Open loss to Tomas Machac on Sunday.
The 36-year-old was forced to undergo treatment on his ankle during the deciding set as he suffered a 5-7 7-5 7-6 defeat to Czech opponent Machac.
“Yesterday towards the end of my match in Miami I suffered a full rupture of my ATFL [ anterior talofibular ligament] and near full thickness rupture of my CFL [calcaneofibular ligament],” said Murray on Instagram.
“I will see an ankle specialist when I return home to determine next steps. Goes without saying this is a tough one to take and I’ll be out for an extended period. But I’ll be back with 1 hip and no ankle ligaments when the time is right.”
Murray had clawed his way back from 0-3 down in the deciding set to draw level at 5-5 against Machac, only to require treatment after landing awkwardly on his ankle.
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Highlights of the Round of 32 game between Andy Murray and Tomas Machac at the Miami Open.
Having forced the match into a tie-breaker, Murray surrendered four successive points from 5-3 up as Machac booked his spot in the quarter-finals.
Murray’s latest injury setback arrives little under two months out from the French Open, which takes place across the end of May and beginning of June, as well as three months out from Wimbledon in July. The Olympic Games in Paris are also scheduled to get under way on July 24, with direct entry handed to the top 56 of the rankings on June 10.
It also serves up further doubt over the future of the former world No 1, who had previously said he was “not planning on playing much past this summer”.
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