British number one Andy Murray is keeping his fingers crossed that a recurring back injury does not harm his chances for the rest of the season.

The Scotsman suffered an early exit from the Rome Open yesterday after Richard Gasquet completed a three-set victory in the third round of the tournament.

"My back was a little bit sore towards the end [of the Gasquet match], but I was expecting that coming into the tournament," said Murray.

"I don't really want to go into detail of what it is and what treatment I've had done, but I've had it a while, since December. Obviously since then there hasn't been that much time to take an extended break.

"You try to take one at the right moment. With the French Open, Wimbledon, Olympics and US Open there's not much time to take a rest. Obviously now is the best time to do it, so hopefully by the time the French Open comes around I'll be in peak condition. That's the goal."

The Scotsman is yet to win a grand slam.