Woods out for 3 months

Tiger Woods could be sidelined from competitive golf for at least three months after undergoing back surgery, casting doubt over his participation in the June 12-15 US Open, say several leading sports surgeons.

The world number one, whose back pain surfaced last year and intensified this season, will miss the Masters next week for the first time in his career after being advised by his doctors on Monday to have a microdiscectomy in Park City, Utah.

 

His surgery involved the removal of herniated disc material that pressed on a nerve root or the spinal cord.

 

“In general, it takes six weeks for the soft tissues to heal, even from the microdiscectomy surgery,” Michael Leighton, a surgeon at the Palm Beach Orthopaedic Institute in Florida, told Reuters by telephone on Friday.

 

“Tiger certainly can be working his short game sooner than that, probably after three or four weeks at the latest.”