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Former world number one suffered sprained left knee and strained Achilles tendon at the Masters
Tiger Woods will be sidelined for the next few weeks after suffering a couple of minor injuries at the Masters.

According to his website, Woods suffered a grade 1 MCL sprain to his left knee and a mild strain of his left Achilles tendon while hitting a difficult and awkward shot from the pine straw on No. 17 during the third round on Saturday. His left foot got caught in the pine straw as the momentum of the swing carried him backward. Woods hit into a front bunker and saved par on his way to a 74.
Woods returned on Sunday, where he mounted a charge up the leaderboard with four birdies and an eagle for a 31 on the front nine. However, his charge stalled on the back nine with just a single birdie and a bogey as he finished tied for fourth. He appeared to be limping coming to the 18th green and following the tournament, he sought a medical evaluation.

Doctors have advised Woods to rest and undergo cold-water and soft tissue treatment. No time frame for his return was given but Woods says he expects to be back "in a few weeks".

The injury will keep Woods out of the upcoming Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow and threatens his appearance at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass the following week, a tournament Woods won in 2001, although it is not among his favourite courses. He has finished in the top 10 only four times in 13 appearances and withdrew from the final round a year ago with a neck injury.

“It’s unfortunate but Tiger called personally and I thought that was incredibly gracious of him,” tournament director Kym Hougham told the Charlotte Observe“We had a nice conversation and he said he loves the tournament, loves the feel of it and the way the community embraces the event but he’s going to have to miss it.”

Woods, who hasn't won a tournament in 18 months, has already has had four operations on his left knee, dating to his freshman year at Stanford to remove two benign tumours and scar issues. His most recent surgery was after winning the U.S. Open in 2008 for his 14th major. He wound up missing eight months.

When he returned from a sex scandal last year at the Masters, Woods revealed that he had ruptured the Achilles in his right leg in December 2008, two months before he came back from the knee surgery. Woods had a cortisone shot in his right ankle last December.

Bryan Angus also on twitter @mummmbles