Tiger Woods prepares to tee off on the 10th hole during the pro-am round at the PNC Championship golf tournament at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.  SOPA Images

Tigers Woods' injury worse than one suffered by WFT's Alex Smith?

Tiger Woods' professional golf career was put in jeopardy after he suffered serious leg injuries in a rollover car accident near Los Angeles last week. One athlete knows exactly what he might be dealing with. 

Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith sustained a life-threatening leg injury in 2018 and returned to the field for the 2020 season. However, it appears Woods' injuries might be worse than Smith's were. 

According to former NFL head athletic trainer and NBC sports medicine analyst Mike Ryan, Woods' situation is far more complicated than Smith's. 

"This is in my opinion worse than Alex Smith's," Ryan said in an interview with Pro Football Talk. "Tiger suffered a 'crush' injury, not the kind of twisting injury with force Smith suffered. Smith had a compound fracture of his lower tibia and fibula, just above the ankle. Woods has compound multiple open fractures of both the upper shin and the lower shin, with the skin broken, plus foot and ankle fractures as well. From an orthopedic review, Tiger's is a far more complicated scenario."

Woods underwent emergency surgery at Harbor-UCLA after his rollover car crash on Tuesday. It's unclear how long the 45-year-old will remain in the hospital. It's also unclear how long it will take him to recover from his injuries.

Woods is "in good spirits," according to a statement released on his Twitter account. 

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