Els plots road to full recovery

Ernie Els has been assured he should suffer no lasting damage from the injury which has put him out of action for the rest of the season.

Els injured his knee while on a sailing holiday with his family in the Mediterranean last week and will miss the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol in New Jersey on August 11th, as well as the President's Cup clash between the USA and the Rest of the World side.

The world number three has undergone a preliminary operation and must wait until the knee is strong enough for the reconstruction required.

"Obviously the timing is unfortunate," said Els, who won back-to-back titles in Dubai and Qatar earlier this year, but struggled to hit top form in the majors.

"Although let's face it, there's no such thing as a good time to get injured. But what can you do? I'm not dwelling on my bad luck.

"All I have to do now is focus on getting better, so I'm out of action for not a day longer than I have to be."

Els' surgeon, Andrew Unwin, added on the South African's personal website: "Ernie has sustained a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). This is an important ligament within the knee which provides rotational stability. When someone does not have an ACL and attempts to twist or pivot on the knee, the knee can give way, causing pain and also harming the other structures within the knee.

"If the patient requires rotational stability the ACL has to be 'substituted' with something else - in Ernie's case, we will be using his hamstring tendons . . . the operation is largely arthroscopic ('keyhole'). "Following that operation, no braces or splints will be necessary and he will need crutches for only a few days.

"Ernie will spend a great deal of time at the gym mobilising the knee and once the wounds are healed, using a pool to regain his muscle strength.

"He should be able to start playing gentle golf at eight to 10 weeks and hopefully playing professionally again by 16 weeks."

Meanwhile, English trio Steve Webster, Paul Broadhurst and Nick Dougherty - 98th, 99th and 100th in the world - have been invited to take part in next week's US PGA Championship.

The final major of the season traditionally tries to attract as many of the world's top 100 as possible. There will be a record 31 European taking part.

US PGA, European field: T Bjorn (Den), P Broadhurst (Eng), P Casey (Eng), A Cejka (Ger), D Clarke, B Davis (Eng), S Dodd (Wal), N Dougherty (Eng), L Donald (Eng), N Fasth (Swe), S Gallacher (Sco), S Garcia (Spa), P Hanson (Swe), P Harrington, D Howell (Eng), F Jacobson (Swe), M A Jimenez (Spa), M Lafeber (Ned), B Langer (Ger), T Levet (Fra), G McDowell, P McGinley, C Montgomerie (Sco), J M Olazabal (Spa), G Owen (Eng), J Parnevik (Swe), I Poulter (Eng), J-F Remesy (Fra), H Stenson (Swe), S Webster (Eng), L Westwood (Eng).