World number two Rory McIlroy is prepared to play through the pain as he looks to win his first Players' Championship.
The Northern Irishman is even-par for his first two rounds at TPC Sawgrass and currently sits nine shots off the pace set by Louis Oosthuizen and Kyle Stanley.
McIlroy has been struggling with a back injury all week and speaking after his second round he said: "It’s obviously not 100 percent, but it’s good enough to get myself around here for the next couple of days."
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"It might just be a flare-up of what happened previously and I just need to rest for a few days and it might be OK. Hopefully that’s what it shows in the scan next week," he added.
He is due to have an MRI scan on his back on Monday. He has already missed a few weeks of the season when he injured his ribs in South Africa in January.
The Hollywood native has just returned to the Tour after taking time off for his honeymoon which may have contributed to the stiffness in his back.
“I took three weeks off and then I went back at it again on Friday and instead of maybe gradually building it up again, I hit balls for four or five hours on Friday and did the same on Saturday,” he said, adding: “I felt a bit of stiffness on Sunday, hit a couple of drives that didn’t quite feel right.
"Maybe I should have just taken it a bit easier over the weekend, but I was excited to get back, excited to play again,” he added.
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