Andrea Pavan has said he is “optimistic” that he can make a playing return to the DP World Tour as he recovers from his fall down a lift shaft.
Pavan suffered severe shoulder damage and multiple fractures to his back vertebrae after the incident at his private accommodation ahead of the South African Open at Stellenbosch Golf Club.
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The 37-year-old, a two-time winner on Tour, underwent surgery at a local hospital and has since been recuperating at his home in Texas after the three storey fall, and is hopeful he may yet play professionally again.
“It’s hard to say a precise goal, there’s more like steps,” Pavan said to BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Around three months we’ll see how well the bone has healed. Around six months it’s about where complete bone healing happens and we’ll see how the joint is moving by then.
“It depends on if there are other tissues that were damaged if I need a second surgery. And there’s the possibility of necrosis when the blood flow is not sufficient for the bones. There is that risk, but so far it seem like things are positive enough.
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“The shoulder is a very demanding joint. Hopefully it’s a little less than a year that I can play with a full swing but it’s just so new and such a big injury there just a lot of unknowns. But I’m hopeful and the only thing I can do is to try and improve and take it day by day.”
Andrea Pavan is recovering from his fall and surgery (Getty)
Pavan had been returning to his room to retrieve a locker key when the incident occurred.
He explained: “I walked back towards the elevator, I opened the door – one of those doors that get into the apartment straight away – and by the time I realised the lift wasn’t there I’d already taken a step.
“The next thing I know I’m just at the bottom of the elevator, luckily not unconscious but in a lot of pain and screaming for help.
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“Somebody heard and I was somehow able to get my phone out and call my caddie, who was in the car. From then on it was just trying to survive the pain and waiting for the ambulance and all the firefighters who got me out.”
Pavan’s last win came at the 2019 BMW International Open, where he beat Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off.
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