The Russian was forced to retire from her match against Croatia’s Mirjana Lučić-Baroni at the Rome Masters on May 16 with a thigh issue.

It now appears she has failed to recover in time to compete at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham with, according to BBC Sport, official confirmation of Sharapova's withdrawal expected in the next few days.

Sharapova had missed out on a wildcard for the ongoing French Open as she continues her comeback from a 15-month doping ban.

Despite the Roland Garros snub, she had been granted entry into the Aegon Classic which is due to begin on June 17.

She has also agreed to appear there in 2018 as part of a deal.

Sharapova has previously won the Aegon Classic twice in 2004 and 2005 and said she was "excited" to be returning.

It is currently unclear whether the Russian will have recovered in time to take part in qualification rounds for this year's Wimbledon Championships.

Sharapova has not asked for a wildcard entry into the third Grand Slam of the season, opting to compete in the qualifying rounds.

If fit, the five-time Grand Slam women’s singles title winner will take part in the event played at Roehampton’s Bank of England Sports Centre between June 26 and 29.

Her first Grand Slam title came on Centre Court in London in 2004 as a 17-year-old.

Sharapova, who won women's singles silver at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the competition played at Wimbledon, was handed a two-year ban after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.

This suspension was reduced to 15-months though following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who deemed that she had not doped intentionally.