Australia's Lleyton Hewitt will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his troublesome hip, the former world number one announced on his website.

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Hewitt, who has withdrawn from this month's US Open, did compete at the Beijing Olympics where he was a second-round loser to gold medallist Rafael Nadal in the singles and was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the doubles with partner Chris Guccione.

"Surgery was always the last resort, but unfortunately that's what it came down to," the 27-year-old Hewitt said.

"I am also shattered that I can't lead the Australian Davis Cup team in Chile (in Santiago from Sept. 19-21) in our bid to rejoin the world group, and hope that the boys can still come through with a great win.

"I am looking forward to playing again in January in my home country, and using that as a springboard to compete at my best again on the world stage for at least a couple of more years."