The tournament at Melbourne Park is also expected to be Rafael Nadal’s comeback tournament, after the Spaniard also cut his season short.
The world No 5 has barely been seen since suffering a shock semi-final defeat at Roland Garros.
He later pulled out of Wimbledon and the Olympics, revealing he had picked up a foot injury that left him unable to play tennis for 20 days.
After starting his North American hard court season in Washington, where he won one tight three-set battle and lost another, he flew to Toronto for the ATP 1000 event but later withdrew and flew home to consult his personal doctor.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion then decided to end his season early, pulling out of the upcoming US Open, and promised to try hard to be back next year.
