Murray set to miss entire grass-court season

Cape Town - Andy Murray is likely to miss the entire grass-court season as his comeback from a long-term hip injury continues.

The three-time Grand Slam winner was originally scheduled to make his comeback in time for Wimbledon in July but that now looks unlikely.

Murray, 30, has pulled out of two recent events and has not been seen on the practice courts for a number of weeks, according to the BBC.

He had been targeting the grass court season for his return, but now the hard court season or even the end of the year is being talked about as his potential return, according to reports.

The Scot has not played a competitive match since his quarter-final defeat to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon last year and had to abandon his planned comeback at January's Australian Open to undergo an operation on his right hip.

Rafael Nadal recently spoke to Murray over the phone and expressed sympathy for his friend's plight: "I have been in that situation."

"If he is healthy, he will be back in a position to fight for the most important things. But as with everybody, you need to be healthy. Without health, you can play but is almost impossible to play at the level that Andy wants to play."