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TORONTO – Tiger Woods could return to competitive golf within a year, top orthopedic surgeons said Wednesday, but the road back from serious leg injuries sustained in a car accident will be long and grueling.
Already credited with one of the sport’s great comebacks when he returned from back surgery to win a fifth Masters in 2019, ending a major 11-year drought, Woods will have to be even tougher if he is to overcome the damage done in the crash Tuesday.
The 45-year-old golfer was hospitalized in Los Angeles and underwent emergency surgery Tuesday for injuries sustained when his sport utility vehicle veered off a road and rolled down a hillside.
Woods suffered compound fractures of the tibia and fibula to his right leg in the early morning crash along with additional injuries to his foot and ankle, according to a statement posted on the former world No. 1’s official Twitter account.
He also suffered trauma to the muscle and other soft tissues in his leg.
The devastating injuries have raised concerns about whether Woods will return to competitive golf, with any return further complicated by his long history of knee and back problems.
But orthopedic surgeons interviewed by Reuters agreed that based on information available so far, the top 15-time winner could possibly return within a year.
“What I have learned throughout my career in the care of athletes, particularly at that level, do not discount,” said Dr. Victor Khabie, chief of surgery and co-director of the Institute of Orthopedics and Spine at Northern Hospital. Westchester. , in the mount. Kisco, New York. “I would say one year.
“It probably takes 12 weeks to four months for the bone to really heal,” he said. “And then after that intense rehab, realistically, probably a year before he plays at a high level again.”
Experts cautioned that there are many unknowns Woods might have to navigate before attempting any return.
Concern for infection is at the top of that list, followed by possible nerve damage and debilitating arthritis if the ankle injury is more severe.
But in the absence of major complications, Woods may be ready to play in next year’s Masters, said Dr. Riley Williams, a sports medicine surgeon at New York Hospital for Special Surgery.
“He has the right psychological makeup and obviously very focused and motivated,” said Williams, who operated on and managed NBA player Paul George’s compound fracture in 2014. “Let’s assume, in the simplest case, we have a good healing. bone at 12 weeks and then another three months of general recovery.
“I could see it in the range of 6 to 12 months after surgery,” he said.
“Next year’s Masters is certainly within reason, once again barring some unknown complicating factors.”
Dr. Nicholas DiNubile, a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, said that elite athletes possess all the tools to deal with such adversity, but in this case, given that Woods is 45, the question is whether he will want to go through routine. One more time.
“This is as serious as it can be when you have an open fracture due to the risk of infection,” DiNubile told Reuters. “Tiger Woods, from everything I’ve read about him, he’s a really tough guy. He has been through many injuries.
“He used to train with the Navy Seals and it seems that even at the scene of the accident, he was trying to get out of the car on his own,” he said.
“I wouldn’t (rule it out). What is against you is your age and at this point in your career, do you need to do that? “- Reuters
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