Rory McIlroy is still recovering from a back injury but said he will be “totally fine” in time for the Ryder Cup.
The 34-year-old from Northern Ireland hurt his lower back ahead of last month’s PGA Tour Championship.
McIlroy, the world’s No. 2-ranked player, is competing in the Irish Open this week on the DP World Tour.
“I would say it’s at 90 percent, 95 percent,” McIlroy said Wednesday, per Sky Sports. “It’s not 100 percent better. I just happened to take care of it a little bit but it’s not preventing me from doing anything I want to do. Just being a little mindful, I guess.”
He said he isn’t concerned about his fitness level.
“No, not at all,” McIlroy said. “I’ve had much worse [injuries]. I had much worse back issues when I was 21, so this is fine. This is a bit of tightness, a bit of a muscle spasm.
“This is nothing compared to some I’ve had. I’ve had a herniated disc and I’ve had stuff that would be a lot more worrying than this is, and I’ve got really good people around me that know what to do. It’s fine. It’s totally fine. I maybe don’t heal quite as fast as I used to but it’s all good.”
McIlroy will also compete at next week’s BMW PGA Championship in Surrey, England, before taking time off to prepare for his seventh consecutive Ryder Cup appearance for Team Europe from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 in Rome.
“It will be nice over these next couple of weeks and obviously the week leading into Rome to sort of feel like I’ve spent some time refining a few things in my game and working on some stuff,” McIlroy added. “I’m excited to spend the next few weeks over here and do that.”
