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Fitness boost for McIlroy

World number seven's back injury is not serious

Last updated: 10th February 2010

McIlroy: nerve impingement

He just needs to rest for a day.

Martin Hardy
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Rory McIlroy has been diagnosed with a slight nerve impingement in his back but it will not prevent him playing at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

The Northern Irishman saw a specialist on his return from Dubai, where he finished sixth on Sunday in defence of his Desert Classic title.

McIlroy has been working with South African physio Cornell Driesson to try to manage the discomfort he feels occasionally.

"He just needs to rest for a day," said the 20-year-old's management spokesman Martin Hardy.

Now up to seventh in the world rankings, McIlroy has been told the problem could be linked to the hip movement in his swing.

"They go backwards and then forwards and that puts a little strain on the lower back," he said.

"I do all the exercises I can to make everything stronger around the joints and it is a matter of resting and managing my schedule so that I am not playing too many weeks in a row."

McIlroy has taken up PGA Tour membership this season and the Match Play, which runs from February 17-21 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Arizona, is the first of five events for him Stateside before the Masters in April.

Rory McIlroy Majors: One 4/1