Rory McIlroy plays in The Players Championship despite a back injury

Rory McIlroy has recovered sufficiently from his back injury to begin his defense of the Players Championship.

The world number two showed no visible signs of discomfort when using his driver to tee off on the first hole at 14:12 local time (18:12 GMT) and found the middle of the fairway with a shot from 329 yards.

McIlroy only arrived at TPC Sawgrass on Wednesday for the PGA Tour’s main event, having elected to stay home to receive treatment for the injury that forced him to withdraw from last week’s event at Bay Hill.

On the eve of the tournament, the 36-year-old said that “drugs work wonders” and that “all indicators point in the right direction,” but that he was taking them “hour by hour” and his participation would be a last-minute decision.

However, McIlroy is confident he will not aggravate the injury by playing this week, with the Masters four weeks away.

“It’s not structural, it’s not joint, it’s just kind of muscle discomfort and fatigue,” he said.

“Obviously I’ll listen to the professionals. But there’s nothing I can do that would hurt that.”

On Wednesday, the Northern Irishman did not hit a driver or fairway wood on the range, instead focusing on clubs up to a six-iron.

He then went to practice chipping and putting the course at the PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

However, he shot his driver during warm-ups for his opening round on Thursday.

McIlroy is hoping to join Jack Nicklaus as a three-time winner of the event, having also won the title in 2019 – and the first to win all three at Sawgrass.

The five-time major champion withdrew from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill ahead of his third round on Saturday.

He felt a “little twinge” in his lower back while warming up in the gym and felt “muscle spasms” on the driving range.

The first Masters tournament of the year, which McIlroy won last year to complete his Grand Slam career, begins on April 8.