Stephen Gallacher suffers injury setback ahead of Ryder Cup

Former Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher's chances of making this year's team look slim after he suffered an injury setback that will force him to change his swing.

Gallacher underwent an operation in March on a tendon in his left hand and initially returned to action at the end of April, but the injury has flared up and forced him to withdraw from last week's Lyoness Open.

"I have been bothered by inflammation on a tendon on my left hand for more than a year," the 41-year-old said in a statement. "I went under the knife in March and the operation was a success, but the problem has returned.

"I showed my surgeon footage of some of my swings and I was told if I keep doing that then the injury would keep flaring up. I would get to a stage of overusing the problem tendon and that could jeopardise my ability to play the game I love.

"If I keep swinging the way I am then I will always be requiring operations and cortisone injections and no-one can go on like that. At first it felt like negative news - especially because I am going to miss some important events - but I am actually feeling pretty positive.

"I now know that it is my swing that is causing this recurring issue and if I address that then the problem should go away. I have a plan in place with my coach, Alan McCloskey, and he is confident the changes we make will also help my game in the long term.

"I need to strengthen the muscle in my left arm and change the way my left wrist works through the swing. If I can do that then I am confident I can get back to as a high a level as before, if not better. I had a cortisone injection on Monday so I have to spend the next fortnight resting.

"It means I will miss the BMW International Open in Germany and the French Open, which is a double (Ryder Cup) points event for us this year. That will leave me with a week before the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart to practice these swing changes.

"It is unlikely I will be ready to play in time, but I would love to be in the field as it is such an important event for all of the Scottish golfers on the European Tour.

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"I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, but I feel happy I am now on the road back to full fitness. I would like to think I still have many years of golf ahead of me, both professional and recreational."

The 41-year-old, who is 56th in the Ryder Cup qualifying standings, was part of the victorious European side at Gleneagles in 2014. This year's renewal takes place at Hazeltine, Minnesota from September 27- October 2.

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