Tiger Woods is riding a stationary bike two or three times a day, but the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world does not expect to be able to swing a club for another five months and gave no indication of his return to competitive golf.
"As far as swinging a club, that's not going to happen until next year," Woods said in a newsletter sent Tuesday to readers of his Web site, tigerwoods.com. "I just don't have a choice. We simply don't know what type of swelling there would be or if there would be any residual effects the next day once you start wheeling and dealing on the knee. Everyone's body reacts differently. I could putt right now, but I'm not going to do it."
Woods, 32, had reconstructive surgery on his left knee on June 24, just eight days after his dramatic playoff victory over Rocco Mediate at the U.S. Open.
It was Woods' first tournament since the Masters because of arthroscopic surgery that was performed with hopes of putting off the more serious reconstructive surgery until after the season.
Woods was in noticeable pain throughout the U.S. Open because of two stress fractures in his left tibia suffered during rehab. That injury coupled with the need to repair a torn ACL made Woods opt for the season-ending surgery. He had a graft taken from his right hamstring to repair the ACL.
Hank Haney, Woods' coach, said this type of surgery necessitates a long rehabilitation, regardless of whether it was Woods or any other athlete.
"It's just letting it heal and doing the rehab and strengthening it more than anything," Haney said. "He'll be able to work on his chipping and putting in pretty short order and I would think he'll be able to practice that for a long time. It's just a question of when he can start hitting full shots. And that's all speculation.
"If he's working out and he has swelling, he's got to back off and let it calm down. Maybe then you've lost a day or a week or 10 days. None of this has happened, but it's a possibility. We just don't know. The timetable he is on would put him back before Augusta, but you're really just guessing," he said.
Woods played in just six PGA Tour events this year, winning four of them, finishing second at the Masters and fifth at the CA Championship. His victories, in addition to the U.S. Open, were at the Buick Invitational, Accenture Match Play Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational.
In the newsletter, Woods said he initially lost about 10 pounds after surgery and has been busy with duties associated with his AT&T National golf tournament, golf course design business, a new video game and endorsements.
He also congratulated Padraig Harrington on winning the British Open and the PGA Championship, a title Woods was unable to defend.
"As a two-time defending PGA champion, it was a lot more frustrating not to be competing and that hurts the most," he said.
"The thing I miss the most about not competing is the fight. I've gone through this experience before, so I knew what I was in for. I know I'm in no condition to beat anybody right now, so I don't have a problem with not being able to compete," he said.
As for the Ryder Cup next month, which he will miss for the first time since turning pro, Woods said, "I will definitely watch some of the Ryder Cup matches and will be pulling hard for the American team. I wish I could do more than root!"
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