Andy Murray admits he is still hampered by hip injury but is positive pain will ease before Australian Open

The three-time grand slam champion makes his long-awaited return next week at the Brisbane International

Andy Murray has admitted that he’s still hampered by the hip injury which caused him to bring an early end to his 2018 season, but the three-time grand slam champion is positive that the pain will ease with more time on court in the lead up to the Australian Open.

Murray returned from hip surgery in June but brought his season to a premature end just three months later to instead focus on his preparations for 2019.

“I still have some pain in my hip but I need to play matches and see how it feels when I am able to play three, four, five matches in a row and take it from there,” Murray said ahead of next week’s Brisbane International tournament.

“Last year when I came here it was tough, I was struggling quite a lot. It definitely feels a bit better than it did coming here last year. I’ve always loved playing here.”

Murray has dropped to No 256 in the world rankings and fell in the second-round at the US Open in August – his only grand slam appearance of this season.

Andy Murray celebrated after defeated Kyle Edmund at the Citi Open (Getty)

However the former British No 1 did defeat his successor Kyle Edmund at the Citi Open on the way to reaching his first quarter-final for over a year.

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For now though, it’s just steady steps for the 31-year-old in pursuit of a return to his peak.

“I would just like to get through the tournaments,” Murray stressed. “I want to feel like I am able to compete and not be restricted by my hip.”