Golfing great Tiger Woods has revealed that he may not be able to play competitively this year, as he continues to recover from back surgery.
The former World No 1 and 14-time major champion has not played in a tournament since last August, having had a third operation on his back.
The 40-year-old hosted this week's Quicken Loans National on the PGA Tour and told the CBS commentary team on Sunday that it was possible he may not be back this year.
Asked if it was possible that he may not return until 2017, Woods said: "I don't know. I want to play, I'll put it that way, but I don't know if I will.
"I do want to and I'm trying. I'm trying. Each day I'm doing my workouts, sometimes they're two or three times a day. I'm working my tail off.
"I've trimmed down. I'm still the same weight, but I've lost body fat. I've gained more lean muscle and I'm faster than I used to be, so all that's positive, but I still need to get into golf shape."
Woods feels he has returned too quickly after previous injuries and is determined to take as much time as is necessary on this occasion.
"I'm playing, I just need more time," he said. "I still need to get stronger, need to recover faster, and that's just unfortunately going to take time.
"I'm not a very patient person when it comes to that, as you know over the years.
"Pushing through some of my injuries, pushing through some of my rehabs, I've come back and I've won. I've won major championships doing it that way but this one's different.
"This one I'm older, it takes a little longer to recover and to heal, and I'm going to do it right, so I don't have another surgery."