Tiger Woods undergoes knee surgery for ‘minor cartilage damage’

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Tiger Woods expected to make a ‘full recovery’ after having fifth knee surgery

Tiger Woods released a shock statement on Tuesday  via a tweet that announced he has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair minor cartilage damage in his left knee.

In the statement, Woods’ doctor Dr Vern Cooley said that there were no further problems and he expected Woods to make a “full recovery”, while Tiger outlined that he would make his return to the PGA Tour in October. 

“I expect Tiger to make a full recovery,” said Cooley via a tweet from Woods’ account. “We did what was needed, and also examined the entire knee. There were no additional problems.”

“I would like to thank Dr. Cooley and his team,” Woods continued. “I’m walking now and hope to resume practice in the next few weeks. I look forward to traveling and playing in Japan in October.”

There has been a lot of talk this year about how Woods’ body has been holding up after a relatively injury free 2018. He skipped the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a neck strain, and withdrew from The Northern Trust with an oblique strain last month. He also complained of soreness in his back during the summer, but this has been the first report of knee problems this year. 

This is believed to be Woods’ fifth knee surgery: He had surgery to remove benign tumours and scar tissue as an amateur in 1994, had systs removed in 2002, arthroscopic surgery after the 2008 to repair his ruptured ACL, and then a full repair after the U.S Open. 

Woods, who has played just 11 events this year and five times since his victory at the Masters in April, is expected to make his return at the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship in October. 

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