Andy Murray is set to miss the rest of the year after deciding to undergo minor back surgery next week in a bid to cure a problem that has bothered him for the past 18 months.

In a statement, the Wimbledon champion said his aim is "to be fully fit for the new season" and sources close to the Scot say he is unlikely to be back in time for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, the tournament for the world's top eight players, at London's O2 in November.

He will miss scheduled events in Thailand, Shanghai and Paris and since he has 1270 ranking points to protect, he could lose his No.3 ranking before the end of the year.

Having struggled with the injury, on and off, for so long, Murray wants to put it right and, having experienced a little mental letdown after his Wimbledon triumph, the Scot decided it was the best time to have surgery.

While all back operations carry with them an obvious risk, the operation is understood to be relatively minor and the hope is that Murray is ready to begin his winter training block in Miami in early November.

Murray has been managing the injury for 18 months and hopes the operation will put him at 100% for the Australian Open, where he has been a beaten finalist on three occasions.

He tweeted last night: "Thanks so much for all the nice messages today . . . Having operation on Monday. Will let everyone know how it goes. I'll be 'back' stronger."

It is a slightly deflating end to the best year of Murray's career, his victory at the All England Club in July ending a wait of 77 years for a British winner of the men's singles at Wimbledon.

That victory over Novak Djokovic gave him a second grand slam title and was reward for his decision to miss the French Open after the back issue had flared up at the Rome Masters in May.

The injury can be traced back as far as the previous spring when he first required cortisone injections in his back before suffering spasms a couple of weeks later at the French Open.

In hindsight, it was clear he was struggling a little at the US Open earlier this month, where his service speed was down and where he was eventually beaten in the quarter-finals by Stanislas Wawrinka.

He played through the pain last weekend to lead Britain into the world group of the Davis Cup with three wins out of three in Croatia. Had it not been a world group play-off, Murray would probably have decided to skip the match, especially because clay is the surface that aggravates the problem most of all.

Murray will doubtless take heart from the efforts of Rafael Nadal, whose performances have been little short of breathtaking since his return from a seven-month hiatus in February. The Spaniard won the French Open and US Open and reached the final of all but one of his events, putting him on track to regain the world No.1 spot from Djokovic.