Rory McIlroy won't give up soccer and expects to contend at the PGA
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — From the day it happened, Rory McIlroy knew his ankle injury would keep him out anywhere from six to eight weeks, or so he said Wednesday.
However, if he was so certain about the timeframe for his recovery from a ruptured ligament suffered in a July 4 soccer game with friends, why didn't he ever tell anyone?
McIlroy and his team engaged in a bit of Insta-trolling last week with a series of Instagram posts – pictures and video – creating a narrative that suggested the world No. 1, who can lose his top spot this week to Jordan Spieth, was going to return to defend the second of two major titles won in 2014. They shot down a Reuters report that McIlroy had scheduled a practice round at PGA Championship host Whistling Straits only to show up Saturday in Wisconsin for the very practice round originally reported.
A misinformation campaign? Perhaps not so much as a desire to control the hype around his return to competitive golf, which begins Thursday in a pairing that includes Spieth and British Open winner Zach Johnson.
As for how he expects that return to go, in no way did McIlroy hedge on what he expected in his second career defense of the Wanamaker (he also won in 2012).
"I expect to play well," McIlroy said. "I don't see any reason why I can't bring the sort of form that I've shown in practice rounds and on the range to the tee on Thursday afternoon."
That's not quite Tiger-at-his-peak swagger – which would have indicated a win was in the offing – but it is a characteristic show of McIlroy's confidence that, if he's in the field, he can win.
The Woods allusion isn't shameless, either. The 14-time major winner, who McIlroy consulted after the injury, suggested the Ulsterman would have some difficulty this week on a course that isn't exactly an easy walk, even if your ball lives in the middle of these fairways. Pete Dye's Straits course is a tough walk. McIlroy admitted there's some discomfort, but that, with the 24-7 supervision of trainer Steve McGregor, he'll be just fine.
"I've been using a couple of machines to compress [the left ankle] and ice it," he said. "So I was able to take advantage of that on the plane [ride to the U.S. from a rehab vacation in Portugal] as well. So, kept the inflammation down to a minimum."
No matter how this week plays out, McIlroy indicated little melancholy that his summer was sidetracked by a kickabout, as he calls it. In his perceptive eyes, it was a freak accident and it could have been way worse. He's not done with soccer.
"Not at all," he said. "I might take some precautionary measures next time. Because I rolled my right ankle at the end of 2013. Obviously I did it a little bit worse here to my left, but maybe wear ankle braces on both ankles. But apart from that, I'm not going to stop doing what I do. I enjoy that part of my life; I enjoy having that normality in my life, something that I've done since I was a kid and I won't stop doing that."
After all, why would someone like McIlroy go through life afraid of what could happen when he has consistently reveled in its possibilities?
"[Injury] can happen walking off a tee box," he said. "It can happen falling off a curb on the side of the street. It can happen doing anything."
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
