Tiger Woods Gives Positive Update on Recovery After Speculation Following Car Accident

Tiger Woods‘ team provided a positive update on the golfer’s health Friday evening, hours after he was moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Woods, 45, was involved in a single-car crash Tuesday morning in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, and suffered “significant” injuries to his legs. He was first treated at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, but was transferred to Cedars-Sinai for “continuing orthopedic care and recovery.”

Woods received “follow-up procedures on his injuries” Friday morning at Cedars-Sinai, his team wrote in a statement published on Twitter. “The procedures were successful, and he is recovering and in good spirits.” Woods and his family thanked his fans for the “wonderful support and messages they have received over the past few days.” The statement included no further updates on Woods’ health and thanked his fans for continuing to respect his privacy.

Earlier Friday, Dr. Anish Mahajan, interim CEO of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, announced Woods was being transferred to a different hospital for his care. “On behalf of our staff, it was an honor to provide orthopedic care trauma care to one of our generation’s greatest athletes. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is a teaching hospital and one of only five Level 1 Trauma Centers in Los Angeles County,” Mahajan explained. He said Woods would continue to receive orthopedic care at Cedars-Sinai.

Woods was driving a 2021 Hyundai Genesis SUV Tuesday morning. The vehicle crossed over a raised median and across two oncoming lanes of traffic. The SUV hit a curb, then a tree before it rolled over multiple times. Emergency personnel needed an ax to break open the windshield to pull Woods out. He was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Mahajan said Woods shattered his tibia and fibula on his right leg and needed a rod to stabilize his tibia bone. Doctors also used screws and pins to stabilize his ankle and foot.

The doctors who have worked on Woods’ injuries have provided no specific timetable for his recovery, but other doctors suggest it could be a long time before Woods could go back to golfing. “Unfortunately, it’s very possible that he may not physically be back to 100 percent, ever,” Dr. Brian Polsky, an orthopedic surgeon at the Centers for Advanced Orthopedics in Washington, D.C., told Yahoo! Sports. “But the person you’re dealing with, someone of that athletic level, that amount of mental strength, that focus he has, definitely adds to the potential of him returning.”