Andy Murray has admitted he is still suffering from hip pain as he arrived in Australia for the start of the 2019 tennis season.

The Scot missed most of 2018 after undergoing surgery in January and is due to play in next week's Brisbane International.

The 31-year-old touched down in Australia on Wednesday and said he needed to test himself in tournament conditions.

He has spent the past three months undergoing an intensive training block in the United States.

Murray told Australian media: "I still have some pain in my hip but I need to play matches and see how it feels when I am able to play three, four, five matches in a row and take it from there.

"Last year when I came here it was tough, I was struggling quite a lot. It definitely feels a bit better than it did coming here last year. I've always loved playing here.

"I'm in a better place than I was a few months ago.''

After missing the last few months of the 2017 season, Murray travelled Down Under this time last year but pulled out both the Brisbane tournament and the Australian Open.

He had hip surgery in Melbourne before flying home to recover.

Murray then played a handful of tournaments in the summer, including the US Open, and chalked up two wins in China in September before ending his season.

The former world number one is now ranked 256 and will be unseeded for his first tournaments of 2019.

Speaking to the Australian media, he played down expectations for his return to action.

He said: "I would just like to get through the tournaments and feel like I am able to compete and not be restricted by my hip."