Injury-plagued Andy Murray will miss the Australian Open after failing to recover from an injury picked up at the Davis Cup finals last month.

The 32-year-old’s contribution to Great Britain’s efforts in Madrid was restricted to one match after he suffered a problem with his pelvis.

His fitness trainer, Matt Little, said the Scottish star was taking longer than hoped to adjust to otherwise successful surgery that placed a metal cap in his hip.

Sliding into the weekend like… ⛸#AMC pic.twitter.com/cOyC70POHd

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) December 20, 2019

It was initially thought the recovery issue was minor and would not affect his participation in either the season-opening ATP Cup or the Australian Open, which was set to be Murray’s comeback.

But despite intensive rehab work, including hip-focused sliding exercises, alarm bells rang when the three-time Grand Slam tournament winner cancelled training in Miami.

The star’s withdrawal from the event comes with a heavy dose of deja vu irony, as his 2019 participation in the Melbourne tournament featured career-ending tributes in the expectation that ongoing injuries signalled the end of his professional career.

-with AAP