Former world no 1 Andy Murray is fighting a fitness battle to feature in the Australian Open later this month after he pulled out of the Brisbane International, the tournament’s official site announced on Tuesday.

The Scot was last seen in action in competitive tennis during his loss to Sam Querrey in Wimbledon, after which he had shut down the season to recuperate from a niggling hip injury.

He participated in an exhibition one-set tournament in Abu Dhabi last week but did not enjoy the best of comebacks as he lost to Roberto Batista-Agut. The two-time Olympic gold medallist looked rusty and laboured around the court during the game.

In a long post on Instagram, Murray said that he will continue to stay in Australia for the next couple of days to assess his hip before deciding whether to pull out of the season’s first Grand Slam later this month.

“I’ve obviously been going through a really difficult period with my hip for a long time and have sought council from a number of hip specialists,” Murray wrote. “Having been recommended to treat my hip conservatively since the US Open I have done everything asked of me from a rehab perspective and worked extremely hard to try get back on the court competing.

“Having played practice sets here in Brisbane with some top players unfortunately this hasn’t worked yet to get me to the level I would like so I have to reassess my options. Obviously continuing rehab is one option and giving my hip more time to recover. Surgery is also an option but the chances of a successful outcome are not as I high as I would like which has made this my secondary option and my hope has been to avoid that. However this is something I may have to consider but let’s hope not,” he added.

Hey everyone.. Just wanted to write a little message on here for anyone interested in what in going through right now. Firstly I want to apologise to @brisbanetennis for withdrawing at late notice and to everyone who wanted to come along to watch me play(or lose😇) The organisers couldn't have been more understanding and supportive and I'll always remember that. Thank you. I've obviously been going through a really difficult period with my hip for a long time and have sought council from a number of hip specialists. Having been recommended to treat my hip conservatively since the US Open I have done everything asked of me from a rehab perspective and worked extremely hard to try get back on the court competing. Having played practice sets here in Brisbane with some top players unfortunately this hasn't worked yet to get me to the level I would like so I have to reassess my options. Obviously continuing rehab is one option and giving my hip more time to recover. Surgery is also an option but the chances of a successful outcome are not as I high as I would like which has made this my secondary option and my hope has been to avoid that. However this is something I may have to consider but let's hope not. I choose this pic as the little kid inside me just wants to play tennis and Compete.. I genuinely miss it so much and i would give anything to be back out there. I didn't realise until these last few months just how much I love this game. Everytime I wake up from sleeping or napping i hope that it's better and it's quite demoralising when you get on the court it's not at the level you need it to be to compete at this level. In the short term I'm going to be staying in Australia for the next couple of days to see if my hip settles down a bit and will decide by the weekend whether to stay out here or fly home to assess what I do next. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to keep everyone in the loop and get this off my chest as it's really hurting inside. Hope to see you back on the court soon 🎾😢❤️

A post shared by Andy Murray (@andymurray) on

The news of Murray’s withdrawal comes just three days after another former world No 1, Novak Djokovic, also pulled out of the Qatar Open, ahead of the Australian Open. The Serb has not fully recovered from an elbow injury that has kept him out since last year’s Wimbledon Championships, just like Murray.

World No 1 Rafael Nadal had also withdrawn from the Brisbane International last week with a knee injury, but had said he still intends to play in the Australian Open.