Friday 12 May 2017 20:01, UK
Rory McIlroy could be facing another spell on the sidelines after admitting he is struggling with another back problem at The Players Championship.
McIlroy is confident he will be able to complete the tournament at TPC Sawgrass after a battling 71 saw him make the cut with little to spare on level par, but he will have an MRI scan in Belfast on Monday to determine the extent of the damage.
The world No 2 admitted he cannot hit many balls on the range, and he managed only nine holes of practice ahead of his first start since the Masters last month.
McIlroy was out for almost seven weeks early this year after suffering in injury to a rib joint in his back during the BMW SA Open, although he defied the pain to finish runner-up to Graeme Storm after a play-off.
The newlywed 28-year-old is hopeful that the new ailment is not a recurrence of the same injury he sustained in South Africa, and he believes it is more of a muscle strain although he conceded the pain was coming from the same area.
McIlroy, who carded two birdies and a lone bogey in a resilient performance on day two in Florida, predicted he may have to take "a couple of weeks off", which makes him a major doubt for the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth at the end of this month.
"I've been struggling with it a bit this week, and I sort of felt it for the first time on Sunday," he said. "I've just sort of been managing it since, so it's okay, it's manageable. It's obviously not a hundred percent, but it's good enough to get myself around here for the next couple of days.
"I'm going for a MRI scan on Monday just to make sure it's not serious and then I'll see what we do from there. It's in the same area as what the injury was at the start of the year, and if that injury was an eight or a nine in terms of pain and soreness and stiffness, this is around a four or five.
It's in the same area as the injury at the start of the year, and if that was an eight or a nine in terms of pain, this is around a four or five.
"So it might just be a flare-up of what happened previously and I just need to rest for a few days and it might be okay. Hopefully, that's what it shows in the scan next week. But there's so many unknowns because we don't even know, unless you get an image taken of it and you know exactly what's going on you don't know.
"I'm just making sure that the tissue around it is as loose as it possibly can be and at least the warm weather helps keep it not stiffened up. Thankfully it feels more muscular than joint or bone at this point. I feel like I can distinguish what the difference is between the two."
McIlroy feels his latest problem could have been caused by too much practising late last week following three weeks away from golf for his wedding and honeymoon.
He added: "I had the injury, and then I played three out of four weeks leading up to Augusta and then I took a little bit of time off, so my body adapted and got used to playing and practising again. And I took three weeks off and then I went back at it begin on Friday and instead of maybe gradually building it up again.
"I hit balls for four or five hours on Friday and did the same on Saturday. I felt a bit of stiffness on Sunday, and I hit a couple of drives that didn't feel quite right. So I maybe should have just taken it a bit easier over the weekend, but I was excited to get back, excited to get ready to play again and so maybe just being a little over keen was a detriment.
"As long as I get myself right for the US Open, that's the most important thing."
