The China Mail - Woods recovery 'not as fast as I'd like', no timetable for return

The 15-time major champion, who will turn 50 later this month, underwent disc replacement surgery in October, the latest in a series of operations and injuries that have kept him sidelined since the 2024 British Open.

Speaking at his Hero World Challenge tournament in the Bahamas on Tuesday, the former world number one revealed that he had recently been cleared to try chipping and putting, but had no idea of when he may return to competitive action.

"It's not as fast as I'd like it to be," Woods replied when asked about the pace of his recovery from what was the seventh operation on his back.

"It was a good thing to do, something I needed to have happen and it just takes time and dedication to the rehab process."

Asked if he had an idea of his likely tournament schedule in 2026, Woods said he was still "a ways" from determining a timetable for his return.

"I'm just looking forward to just let me get back to playing again, let me do that and then I'll kind of figure out what the schedule is going to be," Woods said.

"I'm a ways away from that part of it and that type of decision, that type of commitment level.

"Unfortunately, I've been through this rehab process before, it's just step by step. Once I get a feel for practicing, exploding, playing, the recovery process, then I can assess where I'm going to play and how much I'll play."

Woods suffered severe leg injuries in a 2021 car crash but returned at the 2022 Masters and finished 47th.

The veteran superstar had a back operation in September 2024 and was rehabilitating from that setback when he announced in March that he had suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Woods said while he had started chipping and putting, he was bracing for a lengthy rehabilitation from surgery.

"I just got cleared last week to chip and putt so it's good," he said. "It's been slow. Not able to do much on a disc replacement to let it set. Can't really do much.

"Now we got the OK to start cranking up a little bit in the gym, started strengthening and started doing a little bit more of the rotational component that I haven't been able to do. Just letting the disc kind of set."

Asked if he was targeting a possible return at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles in February, Woods added: "As I said, I don't know...A disc replacement takes time. It's longer -- it's not as long as a fusion, thank God, but it's going to take time."

Woods was adamant though that he remains determined to return to the golf course.

"I'd like to come back to just playing golf again," he said. "I haven't played golf in a long time. It's been a tough year.

"I've had a lot of things happen on and off the golf course that's been tough. And so my passion to just play, I haven't done that in a long time. Just play."

K.Lam--ThChM