Woods recovering after car accident left him with leg fractures

Golf great Tiger Woods is awake and responsive after undergoing a "long surgical procedure on his lower right leg and ankle" at a Southern California hospital on Tuesday, following multiple leg injuries in a single-car rollover crash.

Woods' Twitter account posted an update that included a statement from Dr Anish Mahajan, the chief medical officer and interim CEO at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, who said that the 45-year-old suffered significant orthopaedic injuries to his right lower extremity and needed emergency surgery.

Dr Mahajan said that Woods had a rod inserted into his shin after fracturing both his shin bones, the tibia and fibula.

"Additional injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle were stabilised with a combination of screws and pins," he added.

Besides a compound fracture and shattered ankle in one leg, Woods also had a fracture in the other leg, reported ESPN and the Los Angeles Times . The 15-time Major winner's team said he was "awake, responsive and recovering in his hospital room".

While there was no evidence that Woods was under the influence of any substances at the time of the early-morning crash, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the sporting icon seemed to have been travelling at a "relatively greater speed than normal".

Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, the first law enforcement official to arrive on scene, said: "It's very fortunate that Mr Woods was able to come out of this alive."

Woods had to be extricated from the car through the windshield area and was taken to the hospital via ambulance. - REUTERS