Recovered Jeev eyes Munich Open return

 

MUMBAI: Battling a finger injury for the last ten months, India's ace golfer Jeev Milkha Singh plans return to action with the BMW International Open in Munich this June after a successful therapy at the Leeds Hospital in the UK earlier on Tuesday.

Jeev had sustained an injury to his right index finger during the final round of his triumphant Scottish Open campaign last July with the pain recurring time and again - forcing him to pull out from both the prestigious BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the US Open qualifiers at Walton Heath, midway.

In his bid to put an end to the problem, Jeev visited hand specialist Dr Doug Kampbell at the Leeds Hospital, who gave him a dextrose injection.

"I tried the traditional way to relieve myself of the pain - using pain killers, keeping myself off golf for a certain period - but it kept coming back.

Then, on the advice of a few friends in the UK, I flew to Leeds to meet Dr Doug who told me about the injection and its advantages. I took it and am feeling better now," Jeev told TOI from Delhi on Friday.

Jeev said that he will rest for 10 days before returning to the greens.

"I will start practicing after 10 days post a scan on my finger. The plan is to start by hitting 30 balls on the first day, 60 on the second and will increase it by 10 everyday depending how my body responds.

I intend to be fit for the BMW International Open by June 17, let's see what happens," the pro from Chandigarh said.

"The procedure was painful as they injected the syringe directly into my finger. The inflammation aggravated, but that's the job of the injection.

It forces the body to react and heal the troubled portion as quickly as possible," the two-time Asian Tour No. 1 added. The four-time European Tour champion said it was a matter of one good week and he would be back in the reckoning.