Golfing legend Tiger Woods was “awake, responsive and recovering” after undergoing a long surgical procedure to his lower right leg and ankle following a serious car accident in the Los Angeles suburbs on Tuesday morning.
Dr. Anish Mahajan, the chief medical officer at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Centre, said the 45-year-old suffered open and compound fractures on his lower-right leg and ankle. Dr. Mahajan provided the details of the surgery in a statement shared on Woods’ official Twitter account.
Dr. Mahajan said the injuries which shattered the tibia and fibula bones of Woods’ lower right leg were stabilised with a rod in the tibia.
“Additional injuries to the bones in the foot and ankle required screws and pins,” said Dr. Mahajan in the statement.
Trapped but alert
Woods, who was on his way to a TV shoot, suffered serious leg injuries and was trapped but conscious when emergency responders reached the scene of his one-vehicle rollover crash on a stretch of road known for speeding and accidents, authorities said.
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, who was the first to arrive at the accident site, said he found Woods still in the driver’s seat with his seat-belt on and that the golfer was able to tell his name was Tiger.
The 15-time Major champion, extricated from the vehicle with the “jaws of life” tools, was lucid and calm, but potentially in shock, and did not seem to be concerned with his injuries at the time.
