Rory McIlroy Out Injured With Rib Injury

Rory McIlroy has pulled out of this week's Abu Dhabi Golf Championship after test results revealed he had a stress fracture on his rib

Rory McIlroy Out Injured With Rib Injury

Rory McIlroy has pulled out of this week's Abu Dhabi Golf Championship with a rib injury.

The world number two complained about back trouble at the South African Open where he took anti-inflammatory tablets and played his back taped up.

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McIlroy lost on the third extra hole in a playoff to Graeme Storm at Glendower Golf Club in Johannesburg after the pair each finished on 18-under-par.

He said that he would have an MRI scan after the tournament and the results have revealed a stress fracture on his rib.

He said, "It's bitterly disappointing. I think everyone knows how much I love playing this tournament.

"To be forced to miss this week through injury is really quite annoying to be perfectly honest, but I am sure the tournament will be a huge success and I hope everyone involved has a great week.

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"In situations like this you simply have to listen to the experts, and the team I have consulted have all advised me to rest until my rib has fully recovered."

The four-time major winner pulls out less than three months before the Masters, the only major tournament that he hasn't won.

No timescale has been indicated or how serious the stress fracture is, so it leaves the golfing world guessing on when we will see the four-time major winner again.

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He will undergo rehabilitation now and has said he will return when he is fully recovered.

The European Tour are in Abu Dhabi this week where Rickie Fowler defends the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, the start of the annual 'Desert Swing'.

From Abu Dhabi they head to Qatar for the Qatar Masters which Branden Grace has won for the last two years before for the Dubai Desert Classic, a tournament which Tiger Woods will play.