Andy Murray will spend the next few days weighing up whether to risk his dodgy back at the French Open.
The world number two retired mid-match for only the second time in his career against Marcel Granollers in Rome on Wednesday and then gave a downbeat press conference where he stated he would be “very surprised” if he played in Paris.
Murray struggled with a lower back problem throughout the clay season last year, in particular during the French Open, leading Virginia Wade to call him a “drama queen” when it was at its worst in a match against Jarkko Nieminen.
Murray had injections before Wimbledon that seemed to ease the problem but he revealed it got worse again in Madrid last week and his concerns were heightened by the fact it did not improve with rest.
The Scot said: “I pulled out because there was a good chance I would be playing (on Thursday) if I got through. As it is, I’d be very surprised if I was playing in Paris. It’s exactly the same thing as last year. I need to make a plan as to what I do.
“I’ll make a decision on Paris after the next five days I would have thought. I obviously need to take some days off and see how it settles down, but a few days didn’t really make a huge difference this time so we’ll have to wait and see.
“Until Madrid it had been okay but it’s not been perfect for a long period. You always go into matches with little niggles and such, but it’s frustrating when for a long period you’re hurting.
“It’s been an issue for a while now and I want to make sure it goes away. It’s not enjoyable when you’re playing in pain.
“It’s been here since the end of 2011 pretty much. But it got bad during the clay season last year. Obviously I had all the injections and that helped for a little while but it’s been an issue for quite a long time.”
It was certainly not the way Murray would have wished to celebrate his 26th birthday.
He looked stiff and uncomfortable from the start, losing the first set 6-3 and trailing by a break at 1-2 in the second when he called the trainer on to court.
Having dropped the next two games, Murray staged an unexpected recovery and took the set 7-5 on a tie-break only to then shake hands with a shocked Granollers.
Bizarrely, the US Open champion’s only previous retirement also came on his birthday when he snapped a tendon in his wrist in Hamburg in 2007.
That injury is the only time Murray has been forced to miss an extended length of time, with the Scot sitting out the French Open and Wimbledon, and it is not yet clear whether he may need surgery or if a similar lay-off will be required.