ANDY MURRAY sacrificed his Davis Cup dreams to avoid missing out on an emotional Australian Open comeback.
Muzza played only one of the 11 rubbers for Great Britain as they were beaten by Spain in the semi-finals in Madrid.
The Scot aggravated his groin in the opening victory over Hollands Tallon Griekspoor information not relayed at the time by GB skipper Leon Smith.
As a precaution he was sidelined and acted as a cheerleader as Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans dominated the singles action.
If he had tried to play on it is likely his preparations for the ATP Cup and Aussie Open after Christmas would have been hampered.
Murray, 32 five times a runner-up in Melbourne said: I had a bit of an issue with my groin, like pelvis.
I wanted to play but I wasnt allowed to risk it.
I had a scan straight after the match with Griekspoor because my groin area was sore during the match.
It was more like a bony bruise. Its mild.
But that was something which if I had played on it, it could have got worse.
‘RIGHT DECISION’
And thats why it was difficult for me. Because I wanted to try and play. Because I didnt know how many opportunities you get to play again in the quarters or semis of the Davis Cup.
Obviously the other guys were playing really well and they can handle themselves. But I would have liked to have tried to play.
I guess the good thing about stopping when I did was that its mild, so it shouldnt be long.
It was probably the right decision not to play.
I wouldnt have influenced probably the matches differently to any of the guys that played.
Obviously, competitively, I still wanted to get out there, try and play and try and help.
Murray hopes to play in the Melbourne Slam which starts on January 20 almost exactly a year after publicly admitting his injury demons.
The journey he has taken since then will be laid bare in a brilliant new Amazon Prime Video documentary titled Andy Murray: Resurfacing to be released on Friday.
According to the director Olivia Cappuccini, who has known Murrays family for years, nothing was off-limits in this extraordinary film.
Last night in London, Murray watched the full programme for the first time and winced during footage of him undergoing his career-saving hip resurfacing operation in January 2019.
Incredibly, he had watched the gory and graphic surgery on YouTube beforehand, when the metal hip implant is HAMMERED into the joint.
Three-time Grand Slam champ Murray laughed: I couldnt believe it. I wasnt expecting that was what was about to happen basically. The surgeon who did it said it was more like carpentry.
Obviously when you have an arthroscopy, its pretty small incisions. When you see the bone opposing out of the side of your body, its tough to watch!
I knew it might not go well and I might not be able to play again. I knew that was a possibility.
If I had to have another operation Id stop obviously.
If I had to have a hip replacement Id stop playing, so if I damaged it I know thats what the process is.
Obviously I want it to last for 25 years, if it does, but how are we supposed to know? We dont have anyone else to look at and say theyve done that before.
I guess we will find out in the next six or seven years what happens. I have a feeling it will last longer than that.
