Ankle injury forces Halep out of Fed Cup tie

World number two Simona Halep will miss Romania's first round tie of the Fed Cup World Group II against Canada this weekend after failing to recover fully from an ankle injury.

The 26-year-old sustained the injury during her first-round match against Destanee Aiava at the Australian Open.

Taking to her Facebook account, Halep now confirmed that she has unfortunately failed to recover fully from the injury and, therefore, would miss the Fed Cup tie, which is to be held on indoor hard-court in Cluj on February 3 and February 4.

"After spending the last week resting and rehabbing my injury from the Australian Open, unfortunately it has not recovered quickly enough," she wrote on Facebook.

"I'm sad as playing for Romania is very important to me but I look forward to seeing everyone in Cluj as I will travel to support my team-mates in this very important tie. Good luck Romania!" she added.

Halep had struggled in Melbourne last month as she twisted her ankle and battled her way through several matches to the final, only to see herself slumping to a 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 4-6 defeat to Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki.