Maria Sharapova to miss Wimbledon after failing to recover from injury

The former World No 1 will miss the Wimbledon qualifying tournament as well as a grasscourt warm-up in Birmingham, which she had been given a wildcard for

Sharapova has failed to recover from a left-thigh injury (Getty)

Former world number one Maria Sharapova will miss the grasscourt season, including this month's Wimbledon qualifying tournament, after failing to recover from a left-thigh injury she suffered during last month's Italian Open.

"After an additional scan, the muscle tear that I sustained in Rome will unfortunately not allow me to compete in the grass court tournaments I was scheduled to play," Sharapova, who is on a comeback trail after serving a 15-month doping ban, said on her official Facebook page.

Sharapova opted not to apply for a wildcard into the main Wimbledon draw after her request for an invite into Roland Garros, where she is a twice former champion, was snubbed by French Open officials.

The Russian's low ranking meant she was only guaranteed a place in the Wimbledon qualifying event if she wanted to secure a place in the July 3-16 grasscourt major.

It will be another year before Sharapova returns to Wimbledon (Getty)

However, the 2004 Wimbledon champion was granted a wildcard for the grasscourt warm-up tournament in Birmingham, England, which she will also miss.

"I want to thank the LTA for their amazing support on my return and providing me with a Birmingham wildcard, a tournament which I hope many of you will be able to attend," added the 178th-ranked Sharapova.

"I look forward to meeting you there next year. I will continue to work on my recovery and my next scheduled tournament is in Stanford."

The Stanford tournament begins at the end of July.

The five-times grand slam winner, who received wildcards to play in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome after being left without a ranking when her doping ban ended, retired injured in her second round match at the Italian Open.

Sharapova was forced to pull out of the Italian Open (Getty)

She was wearing a bandage on her thigh at the time.

Missing the whole grasscourt season means the 30-year-old Russian will not be ranked high enough for direct entry into the U.S. Open, where officials will have to decide whether to court controversy by offering a wildcard.