Tiger Woods has back surgery and is expected to be out for six months

Tiger Woods faces a further six months on the sidelines after having another operation to try and cure pain in his back and leg.

The American 14-time major winner has had surgery three times in 19 months.

“I look forward to living without the pain I have been battling so long and to getting back to a normal life, playing with my kids and competing in professional golf,” said Woods, 41.

Woods is likely to miss this summer’s US Open, Open Championship and US PGA.

“The surgery went well, and I’m optimistic this will relieve my back spasms and pain,” said Woods, who will rest for several weeks before beginning his rehabilitation.

The former world number one returned to action in December 2016 after 15 months out following two back operations.

However, he was forced to withdraw before the second round of February’s Dubai Desert Classic after a back spasm.

And he was unable to take part in this month’s Masters, an event in which the four-time champion has only competed once since 2014.

Woods won the last of his 14 major titles at the US Open in June 2008.

A statement on his website said that patients “typically return to full activity after six months”.

Analysis

BBC golf correspondent Iain Carter:

This is yet another massive blow to Tiger Woods’ hopes of resurrecting his career. It is another lost season, another lengthy spell of rehab and another period in which the leading players stretch further clear of the former world number one.

His main objective is merely a pain-free life in which he is able to accomplish the domestic and family lifestyle most of us take for granted. Returning to the heights of the top of the sporting world seems further away than ever.

It feels as though he is moving ever closer to a painfully anti-climactic end to his career. BBC News