Tiger Woods's agent Mark Steinberg has rejected claims that the former world number one golfer has suffered a serious injury setback.

The 40-year-old underwent a third operation on his back in October and did not provide a target date for his return to action.

Two Twitter posts, one from golf writer Robert Lusetich, suggested that Woods's recovery had not gone to plan and his condition was deteriorating.

However, in a statement published by The AP, Steinberg said: "The tweets that appeared this weekend about Tiger's health are ridiculous, and absolutely false.

"It's reprehensible that every few months someone makes something up and it's treated like a real story. Tiger continues to work on his rehabilitation and we will have an accurate update at the appropriate time."

There were rumours that Woods was planning to get back on the course at the Players Championship in Florida in May.

The American, who has won 14 Major titles, has slipped rapidly down the world rankings in recent years and is currently 445th in the list.