Tiger Woods has quashed speculation about his golfing future by confirming he is making significant progress in his rehabilitation and posting a video of him in action.
The 14-time major champion hasn't featured on the PGA Tour since a tied-10th finish at August's Wyndham Championship and admitted in December that 'there was no timetable' when he would make a competitive return.
But Woods has given fans hope of a comeback by posting a video on his Twitter account on Wednesday of him swinging an iron in a simulator, followed by the message that he is 'progressing nicely'.
The tweet comes just days after Woods' agent Mark Steinberg was forced to deny comments that the 40-year-old's condition had worsened, branding the speculation as "ridiculous and absolutely false".
Although Woods does not specify when or where the video was taken, the initials TW and the numbers 2/24/16 - indicating the date - are visible on the screen.
"This was meant more for all of Tiger's fans who had reached out since all of this erroneous reporting came out over the weekend that he was so disabled he had to sit in the passenger seat of a car," Steinberg told ESPN.
"So many had reached out and wondered if this was the end and if this was true. This was meant to give the most recent update.
"That's a fairly full swing. It's a full 9-iron that he was hitting. He has been doing some chipping, working his way to where he is at right now.
"It would be different if I had just said he's progressing and doing some chipping and putting. This is a bit more impactful and relevant to show it this way."
Woods first had surgery on his back in March 2014, before undergoing a second microdisectomy last September and a follow-up procedure a month later.
The former world No 1 has since fallen to world No 445 standings, having not registered a worldwide victory since the 2103 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.