As we all climb the brae on the age front, aches, pains, hirples and hobbles become par for the course.

Even the modest exertion involved in turning the pages of this sports supplement, for instance, can be accompanied by a wincing groan and grunt that reverberates like a bloomin’ musket volley.

As for the evergreen Bernhard Langer? Well, at 66 the indefatigable German had been as fit as a freshly buffed up fiddle for yonks and we all thought he would continue to defy both Old Man Par and Auld Faither Time with his unwavering longevity.

That was, of course, until he jiggered his Achilles tendon at the start of February. The injury scuppered his Masters swansong – the two-time Augusta winner is now set to wave goodbye at next year’s tournament all being well – but there were fears at the time that Langer may have to say ta-ta to golf for good.

There’s plenty of life left in him yet, though. Langer was set for a return to competitive action in this week’s Insperity Invitational on the over-50s Champions Tour in Texas. It’s the kind of tale about a medical marvel that could command a few column inches in The Lancet.

A few weeks ago, this correspondent had a chinwag with Colin Montgomerie about all things golf related and old Bernhard’s ailment cropped up in the conversation.

“Poor Bernhard, it’s a serious one, especially at 66,” said the Scot, who has parried and jousted with Langer on the golden oldies scene for the past decade. “This could really derail him. But if there’s one man who can come back, it’s him.”

Monty, it seems, was right. Three months after sustaining the injury, Langer is poised for an unlikely return. “I played pickleball with some of my friends,” said Langer as he reflected on the moment when something went pop.

“My opponent lobbed me and I did a few steps back, jumped up, hit it. That's how I landed. I heard this loud noise and there was a pain in my leg and I went down on the ground.

"At first I thought I hit something walking backwards, but as I looked around me, there was nothing there and I realized, most likely, that it's a torn Achilles tendon.

“The very next day I had surgery, I immediately started asking, ‘well, what does this mean?’ I had no idea. How long will I be out? Will I ever be back? That kind of thing.”

Footage of Langer’s rehabilitation on the Champions Tour social media account shows his leg entombed in a protective boot as he propels himself along on a knee scooter.

Unlike Humza Yousaf, who employed a similar mode of transport for the corridors of Holyrood after he’d raptured his Achilles, Langer didn’t come a chaotic cropper. Well, at least not in public anyway.

“A few weeks ago he (his trainer) said ‘get up without holding on to something’,” added Langer. “I had a mental block initially. I was thinking, ‘if I get up and put weight on this, who knows what will happen?’. But I did get up and there was no issue. It was an amazing feeling to stand again. I didn’t stand for weeks. I’d been lying on the couch.”

The tale of Langer’s journey to recovery also features clips of him doing stretches, weights and all manner of physical activities that would make folk half his age keel over.

A truly great champion, Langer’s desire to return to the competitive cut and thrust remains undiminished. This is man, after all, who notched a record 46th title on the over-50s circuit last season when he landed the US Senior Open. He’s not ready to get out of the winning habit just yet.

“I think I can still be very productive for a few more years,” he declared. “I still think I have a lot of good golf left in me. My goal was always to be the best that I can be, and I think if I get back to being my best again, even at my age, I still think I’m competitive. And I still think I can win on certain golf courses.

“Statistically, they say that guys win the most tournaments from the age of 50 to 55 on the Champions Tour and then they kind of drop off. I’m trying to continue to prove them wrong.”