Olazabal could return in Qatar

Jose Maria Olazabal, out of action since August with rheumatism, has entered next week’s Qatar Masters.

Named last May as one of Nick Faldo’s assistants for the Ryder Cup, Olazabal stated then that he still hoped to play his way onto the team and earn an eighth cap.

But the 41-year-old’s health deteriorated and as he began his lay-off memories were revived of the 18 months he was out of the game in the mid-1990s.

On that occasion he feared his future would be in a wheelchair after rheumatoid arthritis in both his feet was initially diagnosed, but that was changed to a prolapsed disc in his lower back and he was able to return.

This time it was initially his knee, then his shoulder and groin that gave him problems, but he started to hit balls again just before Christmas.

“I was worried I was going to be out for a long time again because of the amount of pain I went through,” he said.

“I forced myself to play the PGA (his last appearance) to fulfil my number of tournaments in the States even though I knew my condition was not the best.

“I’ve seen a lot of doctors and they’ve done all kinds of tests. They know it’s some kind of rheumatism, but they don’t know what has caused it and it’s just a matter of treating the symptoms until they go away.”

In September he returned to Munich to see specialist Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, the doctor who saved his career last time.