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Sports pictures of the year
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Woods undergoes successful knee surgery
EDINA, Minnesota (Reuters) - Tiger Woods underwent reconstructive surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn ligament in his left knee, an operation described as a success by his doctors.
The American world number one decided last week to have a fourth operation on the same knee, just two days after playing through pain to win the U.S. Open in San Diego.
"We were confident going into this surgery and I am pleased with the results," Dr. Thomas D. Rosenberg said in a statement issued by Woods's management team.
"There were no surprises during the procedure, and as we have said, with the proper rehabilitation and training, it is highly unlikely that Mr. Woods will have any long-term effects as it relates to his career."
Woods, 32, decided to shut down his 2008 campaign after clinching his 14th major title at the U.S. Open eight days ago, winning a 19-hole playoff against compatriot Rocco Mediate.
It was his first tournament in two months since having surgery to clean out cartilage in the knee two days after the U.S. Masters in April.
Woods outlined that he would have reconstructive surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament, which he tore 11 months ago after last year's British Open at Carnoustie.
TIME OFF
He also said he would require time off to rehabilitate a double stress fracture of his left tibia that was found last month and attributed to his intense rehabilitation and preparation for the U.S. Open.
"It was important to me to have the surgery as soon as possible so that I could begin the rehabilitation process," Woods said in a statement on Tuesday.
"I am very appreciative of Dr. Rosenberg and Dr. Cooley and his staff's guidance and look forward to working with them through the necessary rehabilitation and training.
"I also wanted to thank everyone for their well wishes over the past week," added Woods, who initially had surgery on his left knee in 1994, to remove a benign tumor, followed by arthroscopic surgery in 2002.
"I look forward to working hard at my rehabilitation over the coming months and returning to the PGA Tour healthy next year."
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
