London, Mar 3 : Ernie Els reckons that Tiger Woods might never again dominate golf as he did before his latest injury.

Woods returned last week after an eight-month lay-off at the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

Tim Clark knocked him out in the second round and Els believes his knee may continue to hamper him.

Former world No. 1 Els underwent similar surgery for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in 2005, The Sun reported.

“My take is that Tiger will feel it. It’s only normal. I don’t care how good your rehab was, you’re going to feel it every now and again in your swing, especially in cold weather,” Els said.

“My knee was still swollen when I came back and it took another six months for it really to start feeling back to normal,” he added.

The South African has already tipped Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, 19, to become a future world No. 1.

And Spain’s Sergio Garcia could overtake Woods in the rankings within a fortnight if he wins this week’s Honda Classic in Florida and finishes third or better next week at Doral. (ANI)