Andy Murray’s groundbreaking year ended by injury

Injury has ended Andy Murray's 2013 season. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Andy Murray’s historic season has officially been brought to an end after the Wimbledon champion withdrew from the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London next month.

The world No 3 had back surgery last month and yesterday’s announcement was confirmation of what had been expected.

Murray said on atpworldtour.com: “I’m disappointed not to be playing this year, I love playing in front of my home crowd, it’s a great atmosphere.

“All the players look forward to competing in London and I’ll be doing my best to qualify again for the tournament next year.”

Murray first began struggling with a back problem during the 2012 clay-court season, and it flared up again on the same surface earlier this year.

The 26-year-old missed the French Open but went unbeaten on grass as he became the first British man in 77 years to win the singles title at Wimbledon.

It was clear, though, that the issue had not gone away, and he was unable to find his best form as his US Open title defence ended in a meek quarter-final defeat by Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka.

Murray played on all three days to help Great Britain’s Davis Cup team defeat Croatia and return to the World Group last month, but a few days later came the announcement that he would undergo a minor back procedure.

It is understood his recovery is on schedule, and he saw his surgeon on Monday for the first time since the operation.