Andy Murray tweets 'thumbs up' picture from hospital bed following surgery on his back

The British number one is not expected to play again this season

Andy Murray gives the thumbs up from hospital (ANDY MURRAY / TWITTER)

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray appeared in good spirits as he posted a picture on Twitter of himself lying in a hospital bed having apparently undergone surgery.

Murray announced last week that he was electing to have the minor operation on the injury in order to avoid aggravating the problem further although it is understood that he will not play professionally again this season as a result.

That means he will miss out on November's end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals at London's O2 indoor venue, although the Scot will hope he can return to the tour in a stronger position following his recovery.

On Monday night, he posted on Twitter: "Thanks for all the well wishes, means a lot to me..." alongside a photo of him lying in a hospital bed with both thumbs up.

The 26-year-old added: "First thing I said when I came round was 'did I win?' #somethingsneverchange."

The back issue that Murray has battled with is an injury with which he has suffered before this year. It flared up badly in May during the Rome Masters, prompting him to abandon a second-round match against Marcel Granollers and pull out of the French Open.

The Scot and his team have carefully dealt with the complaint since then, and it did not prevent his run to Wimbledon glory in July.

While he played a full role in Great Britain qualifying for the elite World Group of the Davis Cup with victory in Croatia, there were concerns that his back was giving him trouble.

However, Murray won two singles matches and partnered Colin Fleming to a doubles victory as Great Britain defeated Croatia 4-1 in Umag.

His straight-sets triumph over Ivan Dodig, which gave Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead, looks to have been Murray's final match of the year, one which saw him end the 77-year wait for a home men's singles champion at Wimbledon.

Providing all has run smoothly with his surgery, Murray should be back on court and targeting the Australian Open in January, before returning to Davis Cup duty at the end of the month when Leon Smith's GB team face the United States.

PA