It means she will also be missing Romania’s Fed Cup tie next week.

Halep was crashed out of the Australian Open in the first round to Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai last week and revealed she had been struggling with nose, ear and stomach infections.

“The last six weeks have been extremely difficult for me, as I’ve been dealing with infections in my stomach, nose and ear,” she said on her official Facebook page.

“This has been one of my most frustrating periods, as I’ve not been able to train or stay healthy even though I’ve constantly been on antibiotics to help clear the infections.

“I gave it my best shot in Australia but, with the infections still in my body, unfortunately I made things worse, as I pushed myself to compete and fight in a Grand Slam.

“Under doctors advice, I will undergo surgery to fix the ongoing problem with my nose – and I’ve been advised that this is my best option and success is highly likely.”

She said she hopes to be back to defend her Indian Wells title in March but will miss Romania’s Fed Cup tie against the Czech Republic.

“It comes with great sadness that I’m announcing that I will need to miss our upcoming Fed Cup tie next week, as I will be undergoing surgery this week,” she said.

“I’m hopeful that I will have recovered in time to have a chance to defend my title in Indian Wells.

“But I will take it slowly and make sure that I am back to full health before resuming training and competition.