Fans planning to attend the Women's World Cup in France are finding out that the seats they bought might not be together.

Tickets were made available to print Monday and ticket holders learned that their seats were sometimes split up in separate rows and even sections -- even families with young children were separated.

Seamus Campbell, who lives in Portland, Oregon, bought five tickets for the semifinals and finals in Lyon. Three seats are in a single row, but with a random individual seat breaking up the group, while another seat is two rows back and the last is in a row behind that.

Campbell also purchased three tickets for matches in Paris -- two are together and the other is separate.

"It's just astonishing that they didn't find a way to put blocks of tickets together. And I appreciate that there are a lot of tickets, and they're selling them all at once, but I just can't fathom how you would end up -- and I'm a software developer -- I don't know how you would build a system that said, 'We have three seats that are almost together but we're gonna put one single seat in between those three.'"

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The tournament starts June 7 and runs through July 7.

FIFA responded on the verified Women's World Cup Twitter account, posting: "Dear fans. We have noted some of your comments, re: your tickets. When you placed your order, a message indicating not all seats would be located next to each other did appear, before confirmation of your purchase. Unfortunately we will not be able to modify your order."

An additional post said: "However, an exception could be made for parents whose seats are not next to the seats of their underage children [18 years old and younger]." The post included the email address for the event's local organizing committee and a phone number for customer service.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press for comment.

It's customary for most sporting events to allow groups of ticket buyers to choose seats that are together. There was a limit on the number of World Cup tickets that could be purchased by a single buyer.

The situation could cause problems in the stadiums before games, when fans may try to swap seats to sit next to friends or family members. Separated families might become an issue if a security concern should arise.

Jessica Russell, who is from Utah, said she bought two tickets as a package for the semifinals and final in Lyon. She said she was disappointed to see the seats are separated.

"It would be nice to sit with who you bought the tickets with," she said. "We'll try to see if people will switch with people around us. But if not, we'll just deal with it."

There was a moment in England's final ODI against Pakistan, on a clear, bright spring afternoon in Yorkshire, that spoke to the sense of possibility and excitement that surrounds the team right now, a matter of days from the start of a home World Cup. When Jos Buttler stuck out a boot to block Sarfaraz Ahmed's back-foot glide, and then in the same movement swept up the rebound and ran out the Pakistan captain as he stood on the brink of a century, it suggested even Dame Fortune might have developed a soft spot for England.

It was a moment of great skill, with a nod to that wiliest of stumpers MS Dhoni, as well as being, according to Buttler, "really lucky" - but then which successful team didn't occasionally require the rub of the green? Australia may be the self-styled "lucky country", while downbeat fatalism is more of an English vibe, but then the England of Buttler and captain Eoin Morgan is not quite the same as those that have gone before.

"It's certainly the first time it has got someone out," Buttler said of his footwork at Headingley. "Obviously Dhoni was one of the first guys I saw doing that kind of thing - watching batsmen shape up to play certain shots, trying to use your leg to stop it. I was just really lucky that it dropped next to the stumps and he'd set off for a run."

That dismissal had been preceded by another run-out, in which Buttler's role was to throw to the non-striker's end, where Adil Rashid collected and swivelled to back-hand the ball unsighted on to the stumps. Far from showboating at the end of a series that England would win 4-0, this was just the sort of casual brilliance that occurs for a team when everything clicks - and a sign that their hopes of becoming the first from England to lift the World Cup will not be weighed down by doubt, expectation or a rather dismal history in the competition.

"I'm really excited by the buzz," Buttler said, speaking at the premiere of OPPO's TV advert to launch their global partnership with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. "There's pressure and expectation but I think that's to be embraced, we can use that as a positive for the team. We're playing in our own conditions, it allows us to get away from the tournament when the pressure gets ramped up, we can escape to friends and family as well. It's an amazing opportunity to be around at the right time and play in a home World Cup.

"It's a lot of fun [playing for England], that's one of the main things. The brand of cricket we're trying to play and the way we've been trying to really express ourselves and push the boundaries of what we're capable of, it breeds a lot of fun.

"The cricket we're playing on the field has been really exciting to watch, and we've obviously had some success. The dressing room is a brilliant dressing room to be part of, a close bunch of guys, there's a lot of fun, a lot of mickey-taking and it's just a great environment to be in. It's definitely the changing room I love being in the most, and I think that gets portrayed on the field."

While England appear to revel in their current status as world No. 1 and a side repeatedly pushing at the boundaries of the 50-over game, they do not get too hung up on success, either. Team spirit, as Steve Archibald once put it, may be an illusion for the winners' podium but there are tighter bonds in the England dressing room, where a generation of players have come of age together - Buttler became a father a month ago, while several of his team-mates, including Joe Root, Jason Roy and Chris Woakes, also have young children.

Like a highly specialised NCT group, this England squad, largely unchanged over the four years since the last World Cup, have been through a lot together. And while Buttler is a character who always seems to have been able to separate professional failure from personal fulfilment, the sight of him marking his audacious 50-ball hundred in the second ODI against Pakistan with a baby-rocking celebration for young Georgia Rose hinted at great freedom happily cohabiting with great responsibility; suggesting, perhaps, that England have brought balance to their undoubted force.

"It definitely puts things in perspective, which is always something I've really enjoyed about my cricket - trying to keep perspective on it, remember to enjoy it, it's not the be all and end all," Buttler said. "She certainly does that, it's great to come home after a good or bad day and realise it doesn't really matter that much.

"Another good thing about the side is there's quite a few of us in the same boat at the minute, being new fathers, so it's a topic of conversation around the dressing room … It's been great fun, part of the journey of the side. A lot of us have spent a lot of time together and played a lot of cricket together as youngsters and now quite a few have young families, so it's a nice feeling.

"I think the team has grown up together in the last few years, it's very genuine that the guys enjoy each other's success, enjoy each other's company. We really do see that in the cricket, it does transform those relationships in the dressing room and off the field, into the performances on it."

It will soon be time for England to be judged on those performances, and Buttler is confident that he and his team-mates can live up to the external hype and go on to lift that elusive trophy: "Yeah we can, we definitely can, but it's down to us go and do it." The World Cup is tantalisingly near but there is a week-long lacuna to fill with media obligations and squad announcements, warm-up fixtures and, probably, a few night-time nappy changes. Unsurprisingly, Buttler can't wait to get going.

"It's almost a feeling of you just want the tournament to start proper. We had four games against Pakistan, one washed out, two more warm-up games to come… We just want the first game to start. I think everyone's ready, there's been a lot of talk around the World Cup and the build-up. The date everyone's really looking to now is that one against South Africa."

Jos Buttler was speaking as Global Partner OPPO unveiled their ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 TV advert and launched the OPPO Reno Series. To view the new TV advert and to find out more info on the new Reno Series, visit https://twitter.com/oppo

Handling the "pressure is the most important thing" at the World Cup, stressed Virat Kohli ahead of the Indians' pre-departure press interaction.

India go to the World Cup in England and Wales in good cheer despite a 3-2 reversal at home against Australia in their last series - they have a well-rounded side and are ranked No. 2 in the ICC's ODI rankings. Though they are one of the few teams that has not reached the UK yet, the captain feels coping with the conditions wouldn't be too difficult.

"It's always good to go to any place in advance, it does get rid of all the nerves you have in the side going into the tournament like the World Cup," Kohli said prior to the team's departure on Tuesday. "White-ball cricket, playing in England, playing an ICC tournament, the conditions are not that different or that difficult I would say, compared to Test cricket. Pressure is the most important thing in the World Cup and not necessarily the conditions.

"Secondly, all the bowlers in the squad, even during the IPL they were bowling themselves to be in the zone for 50-over cricket. And we saw the guys bowling - no one looked tired or fatigued after bowling four overs. They were fresh. The ultimate goal is to be fit for the 50-over format and not let their fitness come down and that was communicated before the IPL."

"Everyone has to be at their best intensity from the first match onwards and we don't have any room for complacency" VIRAT KOHLI

Coach Ravi Shastri, meanwhile, called on the players to strive for consistency and play to potential, which, he said, should ensure that the World Cup comes to India for a third time.

"As far as this tournament is concerned, it's an opportunity. If you look at this team, what they have done over these five years, they have played brilliant cricket," he said. "It's about striving for that consistency and not playing any differently just because it's a World Cup.

"World Cup might be a stage but that stage is to be enjoyed. The most important thing is get out there and enjoy the World Cup and if you play to the potential the cup might be here."

India play two official warm-up games - against New Zealand on May 25 and against Bangladesh on May 28 - before their campaign in the main tournament begins with the game against South Africa on June 5. It's a tough start for the Indians, who then have fixtures lined up against Australia (June 9) and New Zealand (June 13) before the big one: India v Pakistan, on June 16.

"The good thing is that every game has a decent gap between each other. From that point of view, I don't think that the players will burn out even if we have intense games. We will always have time to regroup and go for the next," Kohli said. "So the best thing is that we'll have four tough games straight up and that will set the tone nicely for us.

"Everyone has to be at their best intensity from the first match onwards and we don't have any room for complacency. That's why it's the World Cup, that's why it's the most important tournament in the world. We expect that kind of a pressure from the first second. We're not even going to let ourselves think that maybe the first week onwards we'll get into it. You have to arrive on the day, match ready, absolutely 100% match intensity and start from there and start building from there.

"This is the challenge - if you look at all the top-class clubs in the world, like in football, they maintain their intensity for three-four months in the Premier League, or in the La Liga. So if we get on a roll and if we maintain consistency then we should be able to do it for the length of the tournament."

Hampshire officials are making strenuous efforts in the faint hope that England's gain will not be not their loss for the Royal London Cup final on Saturday following the selection of James Vince and Liam Dawson for England's World Cup squad.

ESPNcricinfo understands that the county is currently in discussions with the ECB and the ICC in an attempt to have the pair released for the match at Lord's despite the game taking place on the same day as England's warm-up match against Australia at the Ageas Bowl.

However, the chances of Hampshire receiving a favourable response as distinct from a sympathetic one do not look terribly good. The Royal London Cup final lies within the ICC's "support period" for the tournament, which begins on May 23.

"As it stands they are not available due to ICC regulations," England's national selector, Ed Smith, said. "But I also understand that Hampshire and the ECB are going to do whatever they can to make a case that they would be released if indeed they aren't required by England. But, as it stands, they are not available. It falls within the support period."

Both Vince and Dawson were additions to England's 15-man squad, having not made the preliminary cut in April. Vince came in as a direct replacement for Alex Hales, after the reserve opener failed a drugs test, while Dawson's Royal London Cup form helped him leapfrog Joe Denly for the reserve spinner spot.

Both players were integral to Hampshire, the cup holders, reaching a second successive Lord's final. Vince was their highest run-scorer, with 509 at 72.71, while Dawson claimed 18 wickets at 20.33 as well as averaging 45.66 with the bat.

Alex Wakely, the Northamptonshire captain, has withdrawn from his side's County Championship match against Sussex and been replaced with a concussion substitute after suffering a head injury at home.

The 30-year-old Wakely was taken ill before play on the second morning, telling medical staff at the club that he had hit his head on a low beam at his home. An assessment on the ground detected signs of concussion and determined that he could take no further part.

Northamptonshire have been given permission to replace Wakely in the team with a concussion substitute, in this case Josh Cobb, who has been cleared to take Wakely's place as a batsman, although he will not be allowed to bowl.

David Ripley, the county's head coach, said: "Alex actually drove to the ground this morning as normal but was sick after he got here and it was clear he was not well.

"He explained that he had banged his head on a beam last night and after an examination by our medical staff it was decided he was showing signs of concussion. He has not gone to hospital but clearly we are monitoring his condition to see how he progresses. His welfare has to come first.

"We were not sure we would be allowed a substitute as the injury did not happen during the game but the regulations do allow it and after we had spoken to the Sussex captain it was agreed that Josh Cobb could take his place.

A visibly excited Wahab Riaz said he was raring to go and "prove Mickey Arthur wrong", after being picked against all odds in Pakistan's World Cup squad.

Wahab last played an ODI in June 2017 during Pakistan's Champions Trophy title run, and was not among the 23 World Cup probables selected last month or the 17 men who were in England recently for the ODI series. Back in April 2018, Arthur, the Pakistan coach, had criticised the paceman's "work ethic" and brought up the fact that he had not "won us a game in two years".

He did, however, do well in the Pakistan Cup 50-over tournament this year, picking up ten wickets in five games at an average of 20.70 and an economy of 4.60, as his team Khyber Pakhtunkhwa won the title.

"I can't explain in words the pain I have gone through, but I don't want to live in the past. That's history now," Wahab said at a press conference before leaving for England. "Now it's about what we are going to do in the World Cup. Obviously it's the coach's duty to get the best results from the players, and he wants players that can win matches for the team. I also wanted to be in the team, the only difference is I missed two years of [international] cricket. Now I am in and want to prove him [Arthur] wrong and justify my opportunity.

"I even had dreams I was meeting Mickey Arthur and Sarfaraz Ahmad, and sometimes they would pick me, and reject me at other times"

"You can't say it was unfair [that I was selected]. I kept on hearing that I might be chosen for the Australia series or the one against England, but it didn't work out. It was Allah's will that my selection was meant for the World Cup directly, but I have been praying that whatever happens should happen for good. Being named in the squad and then not being able to perform will be another unfortunate thing as there is a lot of expectation. I hope for the best and want to take this opportunity to move on and perform."

The last two years have seen Pakistan bank on the likes of Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf and Junaid Khan for their fast-bowling needs, with Wahab overlooked. He even signed with Derbyshire in a bid to reboot his international career, but to no avail. Till now.

"I was extremely disheartened as I was performing for the past two years," he said. "But since I couldn't perform in the Champions Trophy, I had to sit out because you need to do well continuously to be a part of the team. I was trying to push my case for selection by performing wherever I could. I was very disappointed and frustrated too. I felt that I was hard done by, but at the same time the team was doing well. But I never lost hope. Now, I feel I have been rewarded.

"I kept myself fully prepared for this World Cup even knowing that I am nowhere near the team. I even had dreams I was meeting Mickey Arthur and Sarfaraz Ahmad, and sometimes they would pick me, and reject me at other times. Around ten days ago, I had a dream that Inzi bhai [Inzamam-ul-Haq, the chief selector] gave me a call and told me that I have been selected and this is my last chance. It was exactly how it happened when I was called and told about the decision. It is nothing less than make or break for a player who gets an opportunity to play in the World Cup."

One of his direct competitors for a slot in the 15, Junaid Khan, was dropped after being part of the preliminary squad. His made his frustration and anger plain after the event, posting a photograph on social media, later deleted, that depicted him with tape over his mouth.

"Every player wishes to play for Pakistan and the World Cup is the biggest challenge in your career," said Wahab. "Obviously, he will be saddened and very frustrated, and must be thinking he had been treated unfairly. But when I was out for two years, I was thinking the same. At the end, this is the Pakistan team and its selectors, coaches and captains make the decision. I am sure this wasn't meant to hurt someone but it's for the country, and whatever they think is good for Pakistan."

Wahab's selection is mainly based on his ability to generate reverse swing in what everyone expects will be batting-friendly conditions. Pakistan had not expected the pitches in the UK to be as flat as they were in the ODI series, as Inzamam pointed out, but on the evidence of those games, they realised the importance of an experienced hand like Wahab.

"Obviously, there's a lot of pressure since Inzi bhai has said that I have been brought back on the basis of my experience," Wahab said. "I have worked hard and matured as a bowler in the last two years. I have learnt a lot and the results are visible to everyone. You can't judge anyone on the basis of one match. I am a bowler and there are chances that I may concede 60, 70 or 80 runs, and it has happened in the past as well. But that's doesn't mean that I lost my skills and ability.

"It is important to keep things simple on batting wickets. Variations and reverse swing are key in the death overs. With the conditions dry and wickets hard in England, there will be reverse swing and the team that does it better will have the advantage. I have expertise in reverse swing so I will try to restrict the flow of runs in the final few overs."

Washington Redskins safety Landon Collins believes the New York Giants allowed him to walk earlier this year because of the organization's "culture change."

Collins, a three-time Pro Bowl player, signed a record six-year deal worth up to $84 million with the rival Washington Redskins as a free agent in March. He told ESPN that he thinks the change involved jettisoning players who were too vocal and had expansive non-football platforms.

The Giants traded star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and pass-rusher Olivier Vernon to the Cleveland Browns this offseason and didn't make any effort to re-sign Collins. They also traded defensive lineman Damon Harrison and cornerback Eli Apple midway through last season, when the team was struggling badly.

"I know with myself, [Harrison], Odell, [Vernon], all we wanted to do was win, and we spoke up because we had to get them to listen to us," Collins said. "We had to get them to get us winning pieces to help us at least be contenders.

"I think we were too vocal, and that platform was bigger than the Giants, you know, and our words stood out more. And ... if it's not good media, they don't want that kind of media."

Collins also thought there was a stunning lack of communication by general manager Dave Gettleman. He talked glowingly of owner John Mara and was appreciative of their relationship and a text exchange that occurred following his departure, but he didn't have similar feelings for Gettleman.

Collins said the embattled Giants GM "never even talked to me, basically." That left him without a clear explanation of why they allowed him to leave uncontested.

His complaint is similar to those of some Carolina players when Gettleman was GM there. They said he's all business.

"I wish he'd say something. Try to," Collins said. "I mean, he had come around, shake your hand, say 'Good job big fella,' or something like that. But honestly, talking to him, or saying anything, having a full conversation or anything with him, nothing.

"I mean, he basically ... I don't know him, he don't know me, that's kind of how it just kind of was."

The Giants have turned over their roster drastically since Gettleman's arrival in the final week of 2017. It is a surprise that Collins and Beckham, two of the team's younger and more talented players, are not in New York any longer. Beckham signed a record contract in the summer of 2018 only to be traded eight months later. That and the trade of Harrison to the Lions for a fifth-round pick in this year's draft were the most surprising to Collins.

"[Most surprising] would be between [Harrison and] Odell. You got the best run stopper in the game, he went to the Lions and showed his tail off," Collins said of Harrison.

His defense of Beckham was even more impassioned.

"You got OBJ, the best receiver in the game, and you get rid of him because you think he's ... a locker room problem?" he said. "And, knowing him personally, knowing him, how he was as a person and as a brother to me, and a brother to everyone in the locker room, he made sure everybody in the locker room was smiling ... and he went out there to work, each and every day. He didn't say nothing when he came to play in a football game. He didn't say nothing when he came to practice. All he wanted to do was win."

It's all water under the bridge now, and Collins is happy in his new home. Washington is a place where he believes everybody can be himself. He feels the Redskins have provided more of a family atmosphere, where the players are around one another more than they were with the Giants.

And he's in a place that wants him.

"I'm on a team that loves me and wanted me here," Collins said. "I think the Giants are going in a different direction with the guys they want, and they feel as though they work better for their scheme."

Collins will remember that for a long time, beginning Sept. 29, when the Giants host the Redskins. That one will be circled.

"I'm gonna circle it for the next six years," Collins said. "Next six."

He will also be returning to New York to host the Landon Collins Celebrity Softball Game, featuring at least 75 current and former Giants at Palisades Credit Union Park on June 9.

NEW YORK -- The traditional rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will take a radical twist when they meet in London next month: They will play on artificial turf for the first time in their rivalry, covering more than 2,200 games.

Major League Baseball has access to Olympic Stadium for 21 days before the games on June 29 and 30, the sport's first regular-season contests in Europe, and just five days after to clear out. The league concluded there was not enough time to install real grass.

Starting June 6, gravel will be placed over the covering protecting West Ham's grass soccer pitch and the running track that is a legacy from the 2012 Olympics. The artificial turf baseball field, similar to modern surfaces used by a few big league clubs, will be installed atop that.

"It's the first Yankees-Red Sox game out of the country, so why not a lot of firsts?" New York pitcher CC Sabathia said. "I think it will be fine."

Instead, 141,913 square feet of FieldTurf Vertex will be transported by truck starting June 4 from the company's plant in Auchel, France, a little over 150 miles (240 kilometers) to a storage facility outside London, according to Murray Cook, the sport's field consultant.

Clay for the pitcher's mound and home plate area comes from DuraEdge in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Turface Athletics near Chicago provides the soil conditioner, while mound tamps, infield drags and nail drags are from Beacon Athletics in Middleton, Wisconsin. The U.S. materials, including 345 tons of dirt in 18 40-foot containers, left Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, during the third week of April and arrived on May 18 at Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk, about 95 miles (150 kilometers) from London. Fence padding was manufactured at Covermaster outside Toronto and shipped from Montreal.

"We looked really hard at doing a natural grass system," Cook said. "We're going with a synthetic system and it helps us a couple ways. It's a little more sustainable, because we're going back next year. If we went with a natural grass system, we'd have to bulldoze it all up, throw it away and then buy it again, build it all up, throw it away again."

Only three of the 30 major league teams play on artificial surfaces -- Toronto, Tampa Bay and Arizona. Rogers Centre in Toronto and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, have never had grass. Arizona switched this season from grass to turf, as will Texas when its new ballpark opens next spring.

Olympic Stadium, like the regular ballparks, will have full dirt infields rather than the square dirt patches popular during artificial turf's height -- there was a high of 10 synthetic fields in the major leagues from 1977-78 and again from 1982-94.

"I'm assuming it's like Toronto's or Tampa's, so it shouldn't be an issue," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Toronto has played on AstroTurf 3D Xtreme since 2016 and Tampa Bay on Shaw Sports Turf since 2017. Arizona switched from grass to Shaw Sports B1K this year, and Texas will use Shaw Sports Turf when it moves into new Globe Life Field next year.

"If we had never played on turf, it would be different, but we've played on turf," Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts said.

New York and Boston have played 2,196 times, with four more games at Yankee Stadium for May 30 to June 2. New York holds a 1,191-991 edge with 14 ties, plus a 12-11 advantage in postseason matchups.

Boston is the home team for both games in London, but the Yankees and Red Sox will both wear their white home uniforms. When the Yankees last played overseas in an opening-two game series at the Tokyo Dome in 2004, New York wore home pinstripes and the Devil Rays road grays, even though Tampa Bay was the home team and batted last.

Foul poles, a batter's eye, a backstop and fencing will be erected, along with two dugouts -- Red Sox on the first base side and the Yankees on third. Temporary clubhouses will be built on the warm-up track under the stands -- the soccer locker rooms are too small -- along with batting cages. Because holes cannot be made in the running track, weights will secure the fences, similar to what was installed when the Los Angeles Dodgers and Diamondbacks played in 2014 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia.

Cook helped convert The Oval, a London cricket ground opened in 1845, for games between Boston and New York Mets minor leaguers in October 1993 -- the first of two was rained out.

Olympic Stadium also will be the site of major league games in 2020 -- a series between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals is the leading candidate.

"This way we've got a synthetic turf system that's got two games on this year, two games on it next year and then the commissioner can do what he wants to do with the system, whether he wants to have another event somewhere, sell it or donate it or whatever they want to do," Cook said.

Field dimensions will be 330 feet down each foul line, but just 385 feet to center with a 16-foot wall.

"We've done all the home run trajectory studies," Cook said. "We get comparable distances."

Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi figured the best way for Boston pitchers to keep the Yankees from hitting home runs.

"Just got to keep the ball on the ground, I guess," he said.

Andy Murray could play doubles at Wimbledon but has effectively ruled out competing in the singles this year.

The former world number one had a hip resurfacing operation in January and has since said he is "pain-free".

No player has competed in singles after that operation but American doubles player Bob Bryan has returned.

"It's not enough time," Murray, 32, told the Times. "I'd say there's very little chance I'd play singles during the grass [season].

"Potentially doubles, but I'm not trying to get ready for singles. I've only just started moving now," added the Scot.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray has returned to training and was hitting with Australian Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon on Monday.

Before the surgery, he had said he was planning to retire after Wimbledon, but he now seems more confident of a return to competitive tennis.

"I know from seeing what Bob Bryan has done that for doubles it will be absolutely fine. I'll need to see from there how it would work singles-wise," the twice Wimbledon champion added.

"If I continue to feel good then I will obviously give it a shot in singles and see what happens. In doubles I'm pretty certain I'll be able to play, just based on having an example to look at.

"The thing I said before was that, if I wasn't feeling good, there was more chance that I would play and then stop after Wimbledon. Whereas if it's feeling good, it makes a bit more sense to give it time to make sure that it's as good as possible before I try to play singles on it."

Sixteen-time Grand Slam doubles champion Bryan had the same surgery in 2018 and was back playing again, alongside twin brother Mike, five months later.

If Murray competes at Wimbledon in the doubles it is unlikely to be alongside brother Jamie, a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion.

Jamie said at the weekend: "For me, these are the peak years in my career and if I go to play Wimbledon with someone who hasn't hit a tennis ball in eight months, I'm kind of giving up one of those years, so that's a big decision for me to take.

"Circumstances might dictate otherwise, but I want to give myself the best chance of winning the tournament. Normally I would have a good chance with Andy, but probably right now he's not in his peak moment."