AS far as famous sporting injuries go, it's going to be up there with David Beckham's second metatarsal and the de-activated glutes that bothered the rear end of Tiger Woods.
The world, it seems, is now entranced by Rory's rupture. The full extent of McIlroy's ankle injury remains unclear but the progress reports will be non-stop. "Rory able to walk short distances but still wearing compression boot," claimed one online insider yesterday. Every hobble, hirple and hop will be documented. Imagine the jaw-dropping frenzy when the world No.1 limps unaided across the kitchen to stick the kettle on?
Any player who has suffered the slightest niggle, twinge or stabbing sensation during their career has been pounced upon here at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open to offer pearls of vague wisdom on the aches and pains that come with golf . . . or in McIlroy's case, a kick about with a fitba'.
Padraig Harrington knows all about worrying ailments picked up in the build up to the defence of a major championship. Back in 2008, the Irishman's hopes of retaining the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale were left hanging in the balance with a wrist injury. The will he-won't he reached fever pitch that year but it was all right on the night for Harrington as he went on to secure back-to-back Open victories.
By all accounts, it seems that McIlroy, the reigning Open champion, will need the kind of recovery that would have Lazarus politely applauding from the greenside if he is going to make his tee-time at St Andrews next week.
"In 2008, I injured myself five days before the Open," reflected Harrington. "By the time I played the sixth hole on the Thursday during the first round, that was the first time I put the wrist under any pressure. And when I did, it was fine.
"The biggest issue for Rory, one that not too many people have picked up on, is that it's his left ankle. That's a big problem. You can play golf with a bad right ankle without too much trouble. But it's difficult putting weight on your left side.
"Of course, it depends on the extent of the injury and only he will know the next step. The great thing is that he doesn't need to turn up at the Old Course and play a load of practice rounds. Nobody needs that. Of all the championship venues we play at, that's probably the one where you can almost just turn up and play."
Harrington suffered a similar injury to the one McIlroy has endured back in the early 1990s.
"It was 1991, I was an amateur at the time and I didn't get it treated quickly enough or properly," he recalled. "It took a long time to clear up and, to this day, I still work on my left ankle because of that injury. But we can be sure that won't be the case with Rory at all. I didn't know what to do with it at that stage and left it too long to get it sorted."
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