Woods sidelined after knee surgery

(CNN) -- Tiger Woods will be out of action for at least a month after having surgery on his left knee to repair cartilage damage.

It was the second operation in five years on the same knee and came two days after he finished second in the U.S. Masters behind surprise winner Trevor Immelman.

The surgery, announced on the world number one's Web site, was performed in Park City, Utah, by Thomas Rosenberg, who carried out the first procedure on Woods' left knee in December 2002.

Woods also had an operation on the knee back in 1994 to remove a benign tumor.

He is almost certain to miss the prestigious Players Championship, but is hoping to return in time for the second major of the season, the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines on June 12.

"I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery for after the Masters," Woods said.

"The upside is that I have been through this process before and know how to handle it. I look forward to working through the rehabilitation process and getting back to action as quickly as I can."

Swing coach Hank Haney told the Associated Press in a phone interview he knew Woods' knee was bothering him, but was not aware of the surgery until Woods called him.

"He's been having a lot of trouble," Haney said.

"He doesn't talk about stuff like that. He doesn't want to use excuses, you know? I don't think it affected his play. It affected his practice a little bit. He hit 14 greens in regulation on Sunday. Hard to say it was the knee."

Woods gave no indication his knee was bothering him the first three months of the season, when he won his first four tournaments to extend an astonishing winning streak that dated back to September 2007.

It led to fevered predictions of Woods winning the grand slam by taking all four majors, but that was snuffed out by Immelman's inspired display in Augusta, which left Woods trailing three shots behind.

"Tiger has been experiencing pain in his knee since the middle of last year, and when he had it looked at by his doctors, arthroscopic surgery was recommended," said Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at International Management Group (IMG).

The recovery is expected to be four to six weeks, meaning Woods will not be able to defend his title May 1 in the Wachovia Championship. He likely will miss The Players Championship, one of three non-majors he has never missed since turning professional.

"Of course, we're disappointed when Tiger is unable to compete in a PGA Tour event," commissioner Tim Finchem said on the tour's Web site.

"There is really never a good time for an athlete -- especially one of Tiger's caliber -- to take weeks off from competition during the season. But his health concerns have to come first."

If his recovery goes to schedule, Woods probably will return at the Memorial two weeks before the U.S. Open where he will be heavy favorite because he has won six PGA Tour titles at Torrey Pines, including the last four years. E-mail to a friend

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