Tiger Woods is expected to be sidelined for between four and six weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee yesterday.

The world number one and 13-times major winner, runner-up behind Trevor Immelman at the Masters on Sunday, has had two previous operations on the same knee.

His rehabilitation time will prevent his title defence at the Wachovia Championship, and probably also his scheduled appearance at the prestigious Players Championship the following week.

"I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery for after the Masters," Woods said on his official site ( www.tigerwoods.com).

"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."

Woods initially had surgery on his left knee in 1994, to remove a benign tumor, followed by arthroscopic surgery in December 2002.

"Tiger has been experiencing pain in his knee since the middle of last year," Woods's manager Mark Steinberg said. "When he had it looked at by his doctors, arthroscopic surgery was recommended. Tiger has played through the pain in the past but knew it would be better for him to have the procedure done as early as possible."

The next major for Woods is the US Open at Torrey Pines outside San Diego from June 12th-15th, one of his favourite courses where he has won a record six Buick Invitational titles.