Tiger Woods has acknowledged that a playing comeback appeared to be a long way away when he first underwent surgery on his back.
On Thursday, Woods will make his first competitive appearance in over 16 months as he plays at the Hero World Challenge, but the former world one has admitted that a return to the PGA Tour seemed uncertain when he began his rehabilitation from the operation.
The 40-year-old told reporters: "There was a lot of trepidation and times where I thought - I did think of [retirement] because it was realistic.
"Not being able to get out of bed, not being able to move, how can I expect to come out here and swing a golf club at 120 miles an hour and be ballistic when I can't even get out of bed?"
Woods's inactivity has resulted in him dropping down to 898th in the World Golf Rankings.
