Andy Murray could play doubles at Wimbledon but has effectively ruled out competing in the singles this year.

The former world number one had a hip resurfacing operation in January and has since said he is “pain-free”.

No player has competed in singles after that operation but American doubles player Bob Bryan has returned.

“It’s not enough time,” Murray, 32, told the Times. “I’d say there’s very little chance I’d play singles during the grass [season].

“Potentially doubles, but I’m not trying to get ready for singles. I’ve only just started moving now,” added the Scot.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray has returned to training and was hitting with Australian Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon on Monday.

Before the surgery, he had said he was planning to retire after Wimbledon, but he now seems more confident of a return to competitive tennis.

“I know from seeing what Bob Bryan has done that for doubles it will be absolutely fine. I’ll need to see from there how it would work singles-wise,” the twice Wimbledon champion added.

“If I continue to feel good then I will obviously give it a shot in singles and see what happens. In doubles I’m pretty certain I’ll be able to play, just based on having an example to look at.

“The thing I said before was that, if I wasn’t feeling good, there was more chance that I would play and then stop after Wimbledon. Whereas if it’s feeling good, it makes a bit more sense to give it time to make sure that it’s as good as possible before I try to play singles on it.”

Sixteen-time Grand Slam doubles champion Bryan had the same surgery in 2018 and was back playing again, alongside twin brother Mike, five months later.

If Murray competes at Wimbledon in the doubles it is unlikely to be alongside brother Jamie, a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion.

Jamie said at the weekend: “For me, these are the peak years in my career and if I go to play Wimbledon with someone who hasn’t hit a tennis ball in eight months, I’m kind of giving up one of those years, so that’s a big decision for me to take.

“Circumstances might dictate otherwise, but I want to give myself the best chance of winning the tournament. Normally I would have a good chance with Andy, but probably right now he’s not in his peak moment.”

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