Italian Andrea Pavan said he was “optimistic” about returning to competition after falling from an open lift shaft in February.
The incident occurred before the South African Open at Pawan’s private residence near Stellenbosch Golf Club when the elevator door opened but there was no elevator car in the elevator shaft, causing him to fall from three floors.
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The 36-year-old suffered severe injuries to his shoulder and multiple fractured vertebrae in his back and was taken to a local hospital where he underwent major surgery.
“It’s difficult to say a precise target, it’s more about steps,” Pawan said.
“In about three months we’ll see how the bone heals. In about six months we’ll see how the bone has fully healed and then we’ll see how the joint moves.
“It depends on whether there’s other tissue damage, if I need a second surgery. When there’s not enough blood flow to the bone, there’s a chance of necrosis. There’s definitely a risk, but so far, things seem positive enough.”
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“The shoulder is a very demanding joint. Hopefully it’s less than a year before I can play at full speed, but it’s so new and with such a big injury, there’s a lot of unknowns. But I’m hopeful and the only thing I can do is try to improve and take it day by day.”
On the day of the incident, Pawan was preparing to drive to Stellenbosch Stadium for breakfast and an afternoon pro-am match when he returned to his apartment to retrieve the locker key he had left there.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Naga Munchetti show: “I walked back to the lift, opened the doors – one of the doors that goes straight into the apartment – and I had already taken a step when I realized the lift wasn’t there.
“The next thing I knew I was at the bottom of the lift, luckily not unconscious but in agony and screaming for help.
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“Someone heard it and I managed to get my phone out and call the caddy in the car. From then on I just tried to endure the pain and waited for the ambulance and all the firefighters to get me out.”
The two-time DP World Tour champion spent seven days in a South African hospital undergoing surgery to completely fracture his shoulder and is now back home in Texas.
Pawan paid tribute to the “amazing” support he received from the golf community during his hospitalization.
“During the game, there were so many people coming to visit me in the hospital,” he said.
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“There were a lot of players – friends of mine – who stayed up until two in the morning waiting for me to finish the surgery and then play the next day, Matteo Manassero, Manuel Oliveira and others.
“I was really surprised, comforted and overwhelmed by the feeling that you are not alone in going through this.”