Lorenzo Musetti has delayed his return to competition again after picking up a psoas injury while on the cusp of beating Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. The world No. 5 led the 10-time former champion by two sets to love in the quarter-finals before he suddenly retired early in the third set. Djokovic himself even confessed that he should have been "on the way home", but the Serb made the most of his lifeline and reached his first Grand Slam final in almost two years.

Italian star Musetti has not played a match since. He'd already withdrawn from tournaments in Buenos Aires and Rio, and he has now issued a fresh statement after pulling out of the upcoming ATP 500 event in Acapulco.

"Hi all, just wanted to share an update on my recovery. I've just had my medical evaluation and unfortunately need to continue my rehabilitation before I can get back on court and compete. Sadly, this means I won't be able to play in Acapulco. Thanks to everyone for the continued support - can't wait to be back!" the two-time title winner wrote on social media.

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Musetti has yet to share a comeback date, but for now, he remains entered in the first Masters 1000 event of the season in Indian Wells, which kicks off on March 4. However, with next week's Acapulco tournament already ruled out, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Italian skip Indian Wells too.

The sudden psoas injury has been a huge blow for the 23-year-old, who started the season on a high, finishing runner-up in Hong Kong and reaching a career-high ranking of No. 5. Musetti also looked on course to send Djokovic out of the Australian Open and move into the semi-finals before he got hurt.

There were no signs of discomfort until early in the third set of his quarter-final clash with Djokovic. Musetti took a medical time out at 1-2 in the third set and attempted to play on, but retired at 6-4 6-3 1-3. He later revealed that he first felt discomfort in set two, despite winning it.

The Italian explained: "I felt it at the beginning of the second set. I felt there was something strange in my right leg. You know, I continued to play, because I was playing really, really, really well, but I was feeling that the pain was increasing, and the problem was not getting away. At the end, when I took the medical time-out, to stay three minutes, I sitted, and when I started to play again, I felt even more and was getting higher and higher the level of the pain."

Musetti also struggled with a leg and groin injury at last year's French Open, retiring in the fourth set of his semi-final contest with Carlos Alcaraz. After throwing in the towel in Melbourne last month, he said, "It was the same leg, because it was the right one, but I don't feel it's at the same point."

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