GROWN men were greetin’ on the radio last week when it came to the topic of Andy Murray’s likely imminent retirement but just maybe we haven’t seen the last of him just yet. As wary as I am of adding to the acres of newsprint already devoted to the subject, we should at least touch on the suggestion that all those tributes were perhaps a tad premature.

As the Scot flew back to the UK to talk things over with his family, all manner of things must have been buzzing around his head. While the kind of emotional outpouring rarely witnessed in this country was unfolding back home, the sport’s great and good were queuing up with tributes on the other side of the world. Andy admitted to feeling somewhat embarrassed by all the fuss, perhaps because he isn’t as retired as his rivals think he is.

We may, of course, have watched the Scot in action for the last time – and if so, his humdinger of a first round Australian Open tie against Roberto Bautista Agut was some way to sign out. There may or may not be another mass outpouring of emotion at SW19 this year.

But let’s hope we don’t see him there – in any other capacity, that is, from being an occupant of the commentary booth or mentoring his young charges such as Katie Swan and Aidan McHugh. Because that would mean he has opted for the hip resurfacing operation which would theoretically mean he hasn’t given up entirely of returning for one last hurrah in the sport in his 30s.

Having ended 76 years without a UK male Grand Slam winner, 77 years without a home winner of Wimbledon and inspiring Great Britain to Davis Cup victory after a gap of 79 years, let’s keep hoping for the milestone victory which would top the lot. Becoming the first man to win a Grand Slam title after his own retirement.

When you start getting into procedures as invasive as hip re-surfacing, there are of course no guarantees. If he did return to the court, the hip work could place strain onto different pressure points on his body, storing up health problems down the road. But, going upon what those who have undergone this surgery say, not only should it help alleviate the pain he experiences for the rest of his life, it might just leave that door tantalisingly ajar for a comeback.

Bob Bryan, one half of the most successful doubles duo in history, underwent this procedure last year and is already back playing pain-free. He was certainly encouraging it yesterday. “Seeing the way Andy Murray is feeling hit a nerve with me,” said Bryan, who doesn’t quite pound the baseline the way Murray does. “I would love to see him do a similar surgery, feel the relief that it gives. I think our hips are pretty similar, just worn down, no cartilage.”

Brian Baker, another American, who reached World No 52 in singles, old me last week how he had played most of his best tennis after hip resurfacings on both his left and right sides. “If he is willing to risk some long-term issues down the road, then maybe he could go for a resurface and eventually try to return but it is hard to give great advice,” said Baker. “I would just say if you want to keep playing keep pushing and exhaust every opportunity. But if not he has already had a great career and is able to do anything in tennis or his life he wants to afterwards.”

That, ultimately, is the really big question for Murray to face: does he still have the appetite to go through all this again? No-one could blame him if he didn’t, but everyone might just be proved wrong when it comes to talking about the Scot in the past tense.

While we’re on the subject, it has been written often this week that Murray showed that it was possible to come from Scotland and be world class, yet also that he is a one-off never-to-be-repeated talent. These two statements are rather contradictory. So should a child who thinks he can be the next Andy Murray be encouraged in that belief or alternatively told that it is a one-in-a-million shot and he should hedge his bets instead? I would suggest the former: if you don’t believe you can be the next Andy Murray then you certainly won’t be. He may be an extraordinary Scotsman but Andy Murray has never lost that everyman quality. I never really liked that ‘Let’s go, Andy, let’s go’ chant. How about co-opting the football one instead. “Andy Murray .... he’s one of our own.”