Golf-McIlroy to undergo test on troublesome back

May 12 ( Reuters) - World number two Rory McIlroy will have an MRI test on his troublesome back in Belfast on Monday in an effort to identify the cause of his discomfort, he said on Friday.

Speaking after the second round at the Players Championship on Friday, McIlroy acknowledged that he had aggravated his back.

“I’ve been struggling with it a bit this week, sort of felt it for the first time on Sunday,” the Northern Irishman told reporters.

“Then I've just sort of been managing it since. It's not, obviously not a hundred percent, but it's good enough to get myself around here for the next couple of days.

“I'm going for a MRI scan on Monday just to make sure it's not serious and then I'll see what we do from there.”

McIlroy was speaking after a second-round 71 left him five strokes off the clubhouse lead at the TPC Sawgrass.

Four-times major champion McIlroy has been dogged by back issues for several years, but he is optimistic this latest flare-up is not serious.

“Thankfully it feels more muscular than joint or bone at this point. I feel like I can distinguish what the difference is between the two,” he said. (Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina, editing by Ed Osmond)