Tiger Woods’ agent has dismissed a suggestion that the 14-time major winner has suffered a serious setback in the recovery from his latest back injury.

The 40-year-old last played at the Wyndham Championship in August 2015 and has since undergone two operations on his long-standing back problem.

Woods, who last won a major in 2008, also had microdiscectomy surgery in March 2014 and claims over the weekend, from a prominent golf writer on social media, suggested his condition had “worsened”. The golf writer, Robert Lusetich, went on to say: “He can’t move well; painful to sit. Sits in car with seat fully reclined. No foreseeable return. Sad.”

Yet Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, insisted the former world number one was continuing on the road to recovery.

Steinberg said in a statement, according to USA Today: “The tweets that appeared this weekend about Tiger’s health are ridiculous and absolutely false. It’s reprehensible that every few months someone makes something up and it’s treated like a real story. Tiger continues to work on his rehabilitation and we will have an accurate update at the appropriate time.”

In December, Woods – the owner of 79 PGA Tour victories, the most recent coming at the Bridgestone Invitational in 2013 – reflected on a “tough” 2015.

Speaking on tigerwoods.com, he said: “It was a tough year physically and took a toll on my body. I had to battle through a swing pattern change and get that organised, because it was awful at the beginning of the year.

“I’ve had two back surgeries since then, so it’s been a roller-coaster ride the entire year, from being down to some pretty darn good highs.”