Andy Murray is undergoing a scan on his damaged back as the clock ticks down to Wimbledon.
Murray’s participation at the All England Club in just 11 days’ time was thrown into doubt after he pulled out of his second-round match at Queen’s Club against Jordan Thompson on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old had not looked right from the outset and stayed rooted to the spot after one early serve, unable to put any weight on his right leg.
He underwent a medical timeout face down on court trailing 2-1 and carried on for two further games before reluctantly withdrawing from what was his final appearance at Queen’s, a tournament he has won a record five times. It was his first mid-match withdrawal on the ATP Tour for 11 years.
Queen’s marked the start of a summer farewell tour for Murray, with Wimbledon and the Olympic Games his likely swansong from the sport.
But he readily admitted in the aftermath of his latest injury setback that he had no idea whether Wimbledon would be possible or not, partly because an issue had flared up on the right side of his back and not the left where he had previously needed treatment.
“Maybe there is something that can be done between now and then to help the right side,” he said of his chances of making it to SW19 relatively pain-free. “I will get scans and get it rechecked, and see if there’s anything that can be done.
“My back’s been a problem for quite a while and it’s been sore in the build-up to the tournament. It was sore through today but I was able to manage it. I wasn’t comfortable playing but I was able to manage it.
“But I didn’t really realise until I was walking off to go on court. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t gone on there because it was pretty awkward for everyone.”
The right-sided issue seemed to flare up during his warm-up routine and, when walking to court, Murray said he did not feel like he had “normal strength in my right leg” and struggled for coordination on it.
“The right leg just was not working properly,” he explained. “I have dealt with back issues for a long time, for the last 10 years or so, and it’s probably quite common for a lot of players.
“But I have never had that loss of coordination, loss of control, strength in the leg before.”
Murray has had a history of back problems over the years and underwent surgery in 2013. Traditionally, the back issue flared up most during the course of the clay-court season.
He lasted just 23 minutes against Thompson in front of an expectant 9,000-strong crowd after an impressive opening-round win over Alexei Popyrin on Tuesday.
But Murray said: “The sort of treatment I had on my back after the French Open was predominantly left-sided. This was my right leg.”
