Woods Fighting Fit Ahead of World Match Play Return

Eight months after hitting his last ball in a tournament, Tiger Woods says he is fighting fit ahead of making his comeback in the World Match Play tomorrow. The world No 1 will make his return to the golf course at the tournament in Arizona following his rehabilitation from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and a double stress fracture of the tibia below it.

"My practice sessions have been going really well and I feel healthy," Woods said today. "I feel a lot stronger in my leg, both legs are a lot stronger than they've ever been, it's nice to make a swing and not feel my bones move. It's nice to be able to hit into the ball for the first time."

Woods has been out of the game since winning the US Open in June last year. "The first few months are pretty tough," he said. "You come back and you start to feel pretty normal after five months. Six months, you feel pretty good and here I am eight months later."

The 14-time major champion, who faces the world No 64 Brendan Jones in the first round tomorrow, also pointed out that his spell away from professional sport had its upside. "On the sidelines I felt great - it was great to be with my family. I would have missed a lot of that. It was a blessing in disguise."