Golfer Tiger Woods has undergone another surgery to help him deal with the increasing pain in his leg and back. This is the third surgery he is going through in the last 19 months. Woods confirmed the news on his official website, where he announced that he had undergone surgery on Thursday, April 20.

"The surgery went well, and I'm optimistic this will relieve my back spasms and pain. When healed, I look forward to getting back to a normal life, playing with my kids, competing in professional golf and living without the pain I have been battling so long,” said Woods.

Woods started playing in December 2016, after 15 months of a break due to the two back operations. He had to withdraw from the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic, which was scheduled to be held on February, due to his back spasms. This also prevented him from taking part in the April’s master event, which he had won only once since 2014.

The back surgery

Following the previous operations, Woods’ bottom lower back disc was severely narrowed, leading to sciatica, combined with tremendous back and leg pain. After the failure of the conservational therapies – including rehabilitation, injections, and medications – Woods decided to undergo another surgery. The procedure used was a “minimally invasive Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (MIS ALIF) at L5/S1.”

The operation was carried out by Dr.

Richard Guyer of the Center for Disc Replacement at the Texas Back Institute. According to him, the surgery went really well, and after the recovery, the golfer would continue with his rehabilitation to get healed completely. Tiger would be fit to start golf once he has completely recovered, and can also begin his workout. Currently, he is on complete bed rest and is expected to get well soon.

Previous surgeries

Based on his PGA Tour profile, till now Woods has only played one tournament in 2017, which means that he missed the Farmers Insurance Open in January. This was due to his back pain, which stopped him from playing further. As per the statement on his official website, he is expected to be fully active and fit for playing after six months.

This is not the first time that Woods has faced such a severe back pain. In 2006, right after winning the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, as well as the Deutsche Bank Championship, he suffered an injury in his left shoulder blade.

Till date, Woods has undergone 19 surgeries. With support from his fans and well-wishers, he will recover soon from his current spasm as well. Here’s hoping to see him rule golf soon with his master strokes after six months!