Tiger Woods will miss the remainder of 2008 after a planned reconstructive surgery on his left knee, the golfer’s management company said Wednesday, confirming rumors that Woods was significantly more injured than he let on while winning the 108th U.S. Open.
IMG released a statement saying the world No. 1 played at Torrey Pines with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a double stress fracture of the left tibia.
“Now, it is clear that the right thing to do is listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee,” Woods said.
Wednesday’s news sent shock waves through the sport and beyond.
“Wow,” said Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling when he heard the news that Woods had won on such a severely damaged leg. “I guess that’s why he’s Tiger Woods.”
As far as anyone knew, Woods was merely recovering from a relatively minor operation on the knee to clean out cartilage April 15. But it was revealed Wednesday that he tore his ACL while jogging near his home in Orlando shortly after the British Open last July. He elected to see if he could avoid a major operation, and won four of his last five official starts of 2007, including the PGA Championship and the inaugural FedEx Cup.
si.com
6/18/08
Magnolia Tribune
