Andy Murray has officially until June 18 to apply for a Wimbledon wildcard – but the All England Club would be prepared to give him more time to play in his home Grand Slam.
The double champion last played at SW19 in 2017 – and he underwent a second hip operation in January.
His mother Judy said the former world No.1 is “cautiously optimistic” about returning this summer but no date has been set.
Murray is entitled to enter nine ATP Tour events on a protective ranking – and he has already used four.
If he is fit to play singles or doubles at Wimbledon, he could ask for a wildcard as a former champion to save his protective ranking entries for other events.
Wimbledon 2019: Four major changes revealed - including new retractable roof on Court 1
Wimbledon starts on July 1 but the committee meeting to decide the wildcards is held on June 18. The draw takes place on June 28.
And Wimbledon chairman Philip Brook said: “There have been no discussion with him as yet. It is too soon to know the answer to that one.
"Should he wish to apply for a wild card, he would do so in the normal way and we have a regular scheduled meeting on June 18 ahead of the championships in order to decide which players receive wildcards.
“We have a process which applies to all players competing in the championships and that is the process I expect us to follow.”
Wimbledon chief executive Richard Lewis added: “We have had instances in the past. I think a few years ago we had a player who was nursing an injury and was not certain they would be fit.
"If Andy came forward with a strong case, I am sure we would work with him.”
