Andy Murray may need to undergo yet another operation before he is ready to return to top level tennis.

The former world No 1 has not played a match since the Davis Cup finals in November after being diagnosed with what was initially thought to be mild bruising on his pelvic bone.

Murray has not ruled out the possibility of taking a wild card at the Miami Open next month but reveals there is much uncertainty over his future.

The 32-year-old pulled out of the Australian Open and then two ATP events earlier this month and now admits he could require surgery to remove a bone growth associated with the hip resurfacing operation he underwent last January.

“It’s been unbelievably complex,” Murray said, per the Evening Standard.

“At the Davis Cup I was diagnosed with this bone bruise on the pubis, which was mild and obviously not a big deal, but they can sort of niggle on if they are not handled properly.

“It didn’t really get better. I started rehabbing. I started hitting a few balls. I started running again on the treadmill and stuff to try and build back up.

“The thought was maybe that I had just irritated it and should give it enough time until it’s gone. But my pain was not getting better.

“And because of the metal in the hip, it is extremely difficult to get a clear diagnosis because the metal on the scan makes it difficult to read them.

“I started practicing again a few days ago. I’ve been doing some running and just trying to build up to see what happens.

“So, what I need to do just now is build up in these next couple of weeks to really test it. Hopefully it responds fine. But, if it doesn’t, then I need to potentially have that removed."

Murray had his second hip operation at the end of January 2019 and he remains optimistic this latest period of uncertainty will not last too much longer.

“I would hope I should know by the end of the next month whether I’m good to play or not with it,” he concluded.

“That’s what I have to wait for. And then the issue around that is, if they can’t get it with an arthroscope, which is obviously the hope, that I would have to be opened up again. That obviously takes longer to recover."

Murray, who won his first singles title since 2017 at the European Open in Antwerp last October, could potentially go under the knife for the third time in just 18 months, and with his career now hanging in the balance, the question must be asked of the Scot…is it really worth it?