Jun 13, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; Justin Thomas plays his shot from the second tee during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Justin Thomas had surgery this week to repair a back injury, the PGA Tour star said in a post to social media Friday.

Thomas, 32, said he's been dealing with "nagging hip pain" that has gotten worse in his time off, presumably since he competed at the 2025 Ryder Cup. On Thursday, he underwent a successful microdiscectomy, which is described as a procedure to remove a bulging or damaged disc in the lower spine.

As a result, Thomas is not putting any tournaments on his schedule for the early part of 2026, and he won't provide a timeline for his return, saying he wants to be "very smart and patient" in the healing process.

"The next handful of weeks, I'll just be using this time to rest, prepare and rehab," Thomas said in a video posted to X. "I have a great, great team behind me that I fully trust... I'm definitely going to miss some events to start the year. I'm going to completely listen to my body and let this disc fully heal so this isn't an issue going forward."

"I'm very lucky that this game of golf allows me and all of us to play golf at a very high level for a long time, so that's what I plan on trying to do and coming back better than ever."

The news is particularly frustrating because it seemed as if Thomas had returned to form in 2025 after several years of struggles. He finally rejoined the winner's circle with a victory at the RBC Heritage — his first since the 2022 PGA Championship. That, plus eight top-10 finishes and three runners-up, was enough to be picked by Captain Keegan Bradley for the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team. Thomas went 2-2 at Bethpage while Team Europe retained the cup with a 15-13 victory.

Thomas had been scheduled to face FedExCup champion Tommy Fleetwood, two-time major winner Xander Schauffele, and 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley in the revival of the iconic golf television franchise, "The Skins Game." His replacement has yet to be announced.

Thomas has also become one of the flagship stars for the TGL, Tiger Woods' weekly winter indoor golf league, where he's a member of Atlanta Drive GC along with Billy Horschel, Lucas Glover and Patrick Cantlay. It stands to reason that Thomas will miss at least some of the TGL season, which begins Dec. 28 and runs through March 3.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour star Justin Thomas undergoes successful back surgery, puts no timeline on return

Reporting by Nick Stavas, Golfweek / Golfweek

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