PIC: Rory McIlroy will play the USPGA Championship - we think

Rory's too cool to simply tell us if he's playing.

World number one Rory McIlroy has offered a cryptic clue which suggests he plans to return from injury to defend his USPGA Championship title next week.

McIlroy suffered a “total rupture” of ligaments in his left ankle during a game of football with friends on July 4, ruling him out of the Scottish Open and the defence of his Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational titles.

The 26-year-old has yet to say whether he will be able to compete at Whistling Straits next week, but on Friday posted a picture on Twitter which appeared to show the inside of a private plane along with various emojis depicting a US flag, a thumbs-up symbol and a golf flag.

🇵🇹✈️🇺🇸👍🏼✌🏼️⛳️ pic.twitter.com/Ko0LX9mEo7

— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) August 7, 2015

The on-board video screen suggests McIlroy was departing from Faro in Portugal, where the four-time major winner is understood to have been practising.

So there you have it - he’s playing next weekend. Probably.

All this enigmatic tweeting makes us pine for the days of the simple press release.