Injury could keep McIlroy on sidelines until 2018
World Number Four to see sport scientist as back problems continue
Rory McIlroy is considering his immediate future after a recurring back injury, it emerged today.
The World Number Four is to seek advice from a sport scientist before deciding whether or not he competes again in 2017.
McIlroy finished joint 22nd last night in the US PGA championships at Quail Hollow – nine shots behind eventual winner Justin Thomas.
He had come into the tournament as favourite on the back of top-five finishes in his last two starts.
However, McIlroy was never in contention.
Speaking after yesterday’s final round, the 28-year-old said: “`I don't know what I'm going to do.
“You might not see me until next year. You might see me in a couple of weeks' time. It really depends.
“I have upped my practice coming into these two events because I wanted to feel like I was in a good place in my game. I can go out there and play and shoot decent scores, but when I come off the course I feel my left rhomboid going into spasm.
“The inside of my left arm goes numb. So I don't know what to do. I have got this next week off to assess what I need to go forward.''
McIlroy began the week 43rd in the FedEx Cup rankings and needs to be in the top 30 to qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship in late September.
The play-offs get under way with the Northern Trust Open on August 24 and McIlroy is the defending champion of the Dell Technologies Championship the following week.
However, he already has one eye on next April's Masters, which he needs to win to complete the career grand slam.
I feel like I'm capable of playing well enough to give myself a chance in it,'' McIlroy said of the FedEx Cup.At the same time, April is a long way away. That's the next big thing on my radar.
I feel like I have a sense of, not duty, but I've missed a lot of time already. If I'm capable of playing, I feel like why shouldn't you.
But then at the same time if you are not capable of playing at your best, why should you play. It's a Catch-22.''
McIlroy took six weeks off after losing out in a play-off for the South African Open in January and also missed the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the Memorial Tournament.
“I felt like we took as much time as we needed to at the start of the year,'' McIlroy, who will seek the advice of sports scientist Steve McGregor in Northern Ireland in the next few days, added.
“It felt okay through the Masters and I switched it off for a couple of weeks because I was getting married, going on honeymoon. Then once I started practising again, I didn't build up the volume gradually. I went from zero to hitting balls for three or four hours a day. That aggravated it a little bit.
I just haven't allowed it the time to fully heal. I wanted to play the season. I feel like I'm capable of playing well and winning and putting rounds together. If I want to challenge on a more consistent basis, I need to get 100 per cent healthy.
It's tough (to go three years without a major). I want to get back into that winner's circle. You don't want to be teeing off at 9:45 in the final rounds of a major on a Sunday. That is not where you want to be.''