Andy Murray says refusing to “feel sorry” for himself helped ensure he would be fit enough to compete at the French Open for what is expected to be the final time.
The 37-year-old Briton, who plans to retire later this year, ruptured ankle ligaments at the Miami Open in March.
Murray avoided surgery and returned to competitive action a fortnight ago.
He will play at Roland Garros for only the second time since 2017.
“Initially I was expecting to miss the French and not play any clay at all,” said the former world number one.
“So to be here and feeling pretty healthy, and the ankle being good, is a huge bonus.”
With Murray indicating earlier this year he plans to “not play much beyond the summer”, many wondered whether the nature of his ankle injury would deny him the chance to say farewell to the French Open.
It also cast doubt on how fit he would be to play in potential swansongs at Wimbledon, in July, and the Paris Olympics – which start later that month on the Roland Garros clay.
Murray says he initially feared he would be out for “10-12 weeks” but returned just over seven weeks later when he played at an ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux.
“I was surprised how I was during the rehab – I felt really really motivated,” said Murray, who starts against fellow three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka when the French Open starts on Sunday.
“I worked extremely hard every single day with my team and physio, there were no breaks or holidays to feel sorry for myself. I just did the work.”
The Scot said he was “proud” of how he approached the setback, when “it would have been easy” to be less proactive.
“That’s one of the reasons why I was able to come back a bit sooner than I anticipated,” he added.
Murray will play 39-year-old Swiss Wawrinka for the third time in a row at Roland Garros, having lost in the 2017 semi-finals – a match which exacerbated the hip injury which led to career-saving surgery in 2019 – and in the 2020 first round.
