Murray return could be delayed by a fortnight

Andy Murray is expected to delay his comeback because his injured wrist is taking longer to heal than expected. The British No 1, who damaged tendons in his racket wrist while playing in Hamburg nearly two months ago, had been planning to return in Los Angeles in 10 days' time but is now unlikely to play again before the Washington tournament a fortnight later.

Murray had hoped to play at Wimbledon but withdrew on the eve of the tournament, saying he had been advised to rest his wrist for 10 days. He had been planning to fly to America yesterday with Brad Gilbert, his coach, but after having a scan on Wednesday the Scot is now set to delay his departure until he has seen a specialist next week.

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Judy Murray, his mother, said yesterday: "He's got to have a little bit more rest and it's going to take a little bit longer than maybe he had originally hoped, but he's definitely on the mend."

After reaching a career-high No 8 in the world rankings a fortnight ago, Murray will be keen to return as soon as possible in the American hard-court season, when he has a large number of points to defend. Washington would be an appropriate place to come back as he reached the final there 12 months ago.