Woods sidelined for 4-6 weeks after knee surgery

 

By Doug Ferguson, 16 Apr 2008 Doug Ferguson is a Roar Rookie

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Tiger Woods will miss up to six weeks of the PGA tour after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee today.

The world No.1 had been experiencing pain in his knee since last year, but decided to put off any surgery until after the US Masters.

Woods finished second behind Trevor Immelman at Augusta on Sunday, before undergoing the surgery today to repair cartilage damage.

It was his second operation in five years on the same knee.

“I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery for after the Masters,” Woods wrote on his website.

“The upside is that I have been through this process before and know how to handle it.

“I look forward to working through the rehabilitation process and getting back to action as quickly as I can.”

Woods likely will miss The Players Championship at Sawgrass from May 8, but should return in time to play June’s US Open at Torrey Pines.

The surgery was performed in Park City, Utah, by Thomas Rosenberg, who also operated on Woods’ left knee in December 2002.

Woods also had surgery in 1994 on his left knee to remove a benign tumor.

Woods gave no indication his knee was bothering him the first three months of the season, when he won his first four tournaments to extend a winning streak that dated to September.

“Tiger has been experiencing pain in his knee since the middle of last year, and when he had it looked at by his doctors, arthoscopic surgery was recommended,” said Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent at IMG.

“Tiger has played through the pain in the past, but knew it would be better for him to have the procedure done as early as possible.”

Swing coach Hank Haney said he knew Woods’ knee was bothering him, but was not aware of the surgery until Woods called him.

“He’s been having a lot of trouble,” Haney told AP.

“He doesn’t talk about stuff like that. He doesn’t want to use excuses, you know?

“I don’t think it affected his play. It affected his practice a little bit. He hit 14 greens in regulation on Sunday. Hard to say it was the knee.”

Steinberg said the surgery repaired cartilage damage.

The 2002 surgery drained fluid from around the anterior cruciate ligament and removed a benign cyst.

Woods won the Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship in consecutive weeks in August, the latter his 13th career major.

After tying for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship to Phil Mickelson, he wound the final two events to capture the FedEx Cup, won his unofficial Target World Challenge in December, and won his first four events until tying for fifth at Doral last month.

He occasionally would press his foot against a cooler on the tee box and stretch his knee, but there no other signs he was hurting.

The recovery is expected to be four to six weeks, meaning Woods will not be able to defend his title May 1 in the Wachovia Championship.

He likely will miss The Players Championship, one of three non-majors he has never missed since turning pro.

“Of course, we’re disappointed when Tiger is unable to compete in a PGA Tour event,” commissioner Tim Finchem said on the tour’s website.

“There is really never a good time for an athlete – especially one of Tiger’s caliber – to take weeks off from competition during the season. But his health concerns have to come first.”