Tiger Woods ' former mistress Rachel Uchitel has expressed her shock at his horrific car crash.
Rachel was one of several women who claim to have been the golfer's mistress when his marriage to Elin Nordegren fell apart in 2009.
The 45-year-old golfing legend was seriously hurt in a car crash on Tuesday, which saw him cut free by firefighters after his vehicle rolled and suffered "major damage".
Tiger is undergoing surgery to injuries on his legs, which are thought to be career ending.
Speaking to the New York Post, Rachel said: "Obviously hearing the news has shaken me up as it’s probably shaken everybody up to see that.
"Hearing [agent Mark Steinberg] say that he’s in surgery for his legs is something that really worries me and when you hear a comment like that you know it’s true."
Rachel said that she feared that Tiger will never be able to compete again, as she continued: "He's an athlete and his legs are essential to his sport and to him being who he is and he’s already had trouble with his body up until this point. He didn’t need any more injuries."
Tiger crashed while driving alone near Rancho Palos Verdes, when his Genesis GV80 rolled over at 7.12am.
Woods' vehicle swerved across the road into an oncoming lane then struck a curb and a tree as it plunged off the road and down an embankment, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said, adding "there were several rollovers" before the SUV came to rest.
The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, Villanueva told a news conference, adding Woods was conscious and "able to communicate" when rescue personnel arrived.
Rachel had broken her silence on TV about their affair in a new HBO documentary, with their coupling being exposed after Tiger insisted she came to the Australian Masters in 2009.
The scandal ended in a furious argument between Tiger and his wife, which saw her chase him out of their house with a golf club and him driving his SUV into a tree.
Rachel said about that time: "I regret that he was married and I regret the mistakes that I made but people came at me like they wanted to blame me for the fact a married man cheated on his wife, like I was the only one responsible for his actions."
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