Speaking publicly for the first time since a single-car accident three months ago nearly took his life, Tiger Woods is focused not on a return to golf but on his recovery.
“This has been an entirely different animal,” Woods told Golf Digest’s Daniel Rappaport in an exclusive interview. “I understand more of the rehab processes because of my past injuries, but this was more painful than anything I have ever experienced.”
Woods sustained serious injuries to his right leg, ankle and foot in an early morning crash in the Los Angeles area on Feb. 23. He suffered “open” fractures in his tibia and fibula which required immediate surgery at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, according to a statement issued by the hospital. He also had a rod inserted in his tibia and pins and screws placed in his ankle and foot.
Woods, 45, has been rehabbing in his Florida home for two months.
“My physical therapy has been keeping me busy. I do my routines every day and am focused on my No. 1 goal right now: walking on my own. Taking it one step at a time,” Woods told Golf Digest.
Woods has vast experience in dealing with recoveries. He has had five surgical procedures on his left knee and five surgeries on his back, including spinal fusion in April of 2017. This past December he had his fourth microdiscectomy surgery.
In April, Woods posted a photo to Instagram of himself in his back yard wearing a walking boot and on crutches, smiling next to his dog, Bugs.
“It’s funny because in that photo, the crutches definitely make my shoulders look big,” Woods said. “Maybe it’s the workouts, too. It’s been nice having the ability to still stay strong and work out my upper body.”
Earlier this week, another photo of Woods posted by a Florida girl fighting cancer who met the 15-time major champion showed Woods without his walking boot and wearing a compression stocking on his right leg.
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