Andy Murray must decide whether to end his season now

Andy Murray's hip injury forced his withdrawal from the US Open. Picture: Getty.

The Scot pulled out of the US Open on Saturday, tearfully admitting that he had lost his fight to cure the chronic hip problem that has hobbled him since the French Open semi-finals in June.

It is not a new injury – he has been dealing with the issue for years – but this time it stubbornly refuses to settle down. In the past, a bit of rest and rehab has done the trick but Murray has not played a match for six weeks and has spent the summer doing what the physios ordered to try to suppress the pain – all to no avail.

Now it is decision time. Does he continue with his rest and rehab programme in order to get back on court by the end of the year or does he end his season now? And, the biggest decision of all, does he have surgery in an attempt to clear the problem completely?

Four years ago, he was in the same boat. He was in the form of his life having just won Wimbledon for the first time but his back was so painful that it took hours of work every day to prepare for a match or training and then to recover from it afterwards.

That September, he opted for surgery and did not play for the rest of the year. But when he came back in 2014, it took six months before he was back to full fitness and the season proved to be long and frustrating as he tried to find something like his best form. At the age of 30, the prospect of going through all of that again, this time to heal his hip, must be daunting.

Murray gave the US Open his best shot. He had been on the practice courts all week but while he was hitting the ball well, his movement was clearly hampered. Just 20 minutes before he was due to face the press for his regulation pre-tournament media conference, he admitted defeat and withdrew.

It had not been an easy decision and he struggled to compose himself before he made his announcement. Once he had spoken – albeit briefly – to the press, he left the grounds immediately. He could not bear to hang around the  tournament that, had he been fit, he stood every chance of  winning.

Murray is in good company: Novak Djokovic was forced to call it quits after his quarter-final defeat at Wimbledon. His elbow issues need time to heal – or, possibly, surgery – and he will not play again this year. Neither will Stan Wawrinka, who is recovering from knee surgery, or Kei Nishikori who has a wrist injury.

From being on top of the world at the end of last year, Murray will be down to No 3 in the rankings by the time the Open finishes.

Roger Federer, pictured, is breathing down his neck and is only five ranking points behind the Scot. All Federer has to do is complete one match – win or lose – to take over as No 2.

That, though, is the least of Murray’s concerns. He will take his time before deciding what to do next; at this stage in his career, he cannot afford to take any chances. He plays to win; to win he needs to be 100 per cent fit and healthy. To be in peak physical form for as long as possible, he needs to make the right move now.

Should he decide to end his season, it would put his charity event, Andy Murray Live, in doubt. Due to be played on 7 November at The Hydro, he is supposed to be facing Federer to raise money for Unicef and Sunny-sid3up in Glasgow.

But if Murray is injured, the event will have to be rescheduled which throws yet another factor into the decision making process.