Tiger Woods DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – FEBRUARY 02: Tiger Woods o f the USA watches his tee shot on the 1st tee during the first round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club on February 2, 2017 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Stop us if you have heard this before, but Tiger Woods seems to feel confident he’ll be back in the swing of things fairly soon. Woods has been battling back spasms and other injury concerns for some time now, but after undergoing yet another surgery on his back, Woods says he is ready to move past it all.

“The surgery went well, and I’m optimistic this will relieve my back spasms and pain,” Woods said in a released statement on his official website. “When healed, I look forward to getting back to a normal life, playing with my kids, competing in professional golf and living without the pain I have been battling so long.”

Dr. Richard Guyer, who performed the surgery on Woods, says the rehab will take some time to fully heal, which would suggest we’re not going to see Woods back in a competitive mode for a while, perhaps at least six months. But are you really surprised by that?

“After he recovers from surgery, he will gradually begin his rehabilitation until he is completely healed,” Guyer said. “Once that’s accomplished, his workouts will be geared to allowing him to return to competitive golf.”

We have spent a lot of time wondering when or if Woods can ever truly return to being the kind of player that has a legitimate shot at winning another major tournament, or any tournament for that matter. The feeling seems to be that moment has passed, which is a shame. It always stinks when one of the sport’s greats takes a tumble from greatness. Just last September, Woods announced his return to the golf world with the intent of playing in three events. Now, Woods is back focusing on rehab instead of his swing and putting.

But at least we can always look forward to seeing the return of Mac Daddy Santa.

[TigerWoods.com]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.