© GREG LOVETT/PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK
Tiger Woods’ latest attempt at a return to professional golf appears to be over before it even got started. The 15-time major champion announced Tuesday that he had suffered a ruptured achilles tendon and had to have surgery to repair to tear. The news come just a month after Woods withdrew from the Genesis Invitational following the death of his mother Kutilda.
“As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured,” Woods said on Twitter. “This morning, Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon. ‘The surgery went smoothly, and we expect a full recovery,’ added Dr. Stucken. I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support.”
Tiger Woods’ Injury History Is Enough To Make An NFL Player Blush
At 49 years old, Woods has now suffered several significant injuries in recent year which have required surgery. In 2019, he underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair minor ligament damage in his left knee. Woods then underwent his fifth microdisectomy procedure on his back in 2021 meant to remove a “pressurized disc fragment.”
One month later, Woods was involved in a single-car crash that saw his vehicle roll over and caused a litany of serious leg injuries. According to a statement, he suffered “comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula.” The same incident led him to have ankle/foot surgery to fix injuries caused by post-traumatic arthritis.
Last September, Woods had another surgery, this time to underwent surgery to repair a nerve impingement in his lower back. Ultimately, Woods has undergone at least six back surgeries as well as procedures on his leg, knee, ankle and foot. The fact that he can walk normally at all, let alone play golf, it a minor miracle.
Maybe a comeback is still on the cards. But at this it would be nice to see Woods ever complete four rounds at a major again, less yet contend to win.