Ballesteros called it an “unexpected and preposterous injury” in a statement yesterday, but added that he is still clinging to the hope that he might be able to make a comeback at the Spanish Open at San Roque on April 14-17.

The former Open and Masters champion voiced fears last May that he may never play competitively again, but two months later he was speaking more optimistically, with his main target being the Open at St Andrews in July.

There is also the Seve Trophy at The Wynyard in Durham in September, although because of his health and the state of his game for the past few years many would like to see him become a non-playing captain of the Continental Europe side against Colin Montgomerie’s Britain and Ireland.

These have been difficult times for Ballesteros. He has just separated from his wife of 16 years and he was subjected to a European Tour inquiry into an alleged assault on tour referee Jose Maria Zamora.

He has not made a halfway cut in a major since the 1996 Masters and has not played the Open since Lytham in 2001, the season he fell outside Europe’s top 200 by making only five cuts from 19 starts.