After his epic triumph at Augusta last month, Rory McIlroy is out for major #2 of the year at this weekend’s PGA Championship, but the Irishman’s preparations have been unexpectedly stunted at Aronimink.

McIlroy played only three holes of his practice round, after a fairly gruesome-sounding toenail injury which has cast slight doubt over his participation this weekend.

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The two-time PGA Champion has been suffering with a blister on his toe in recent weeks, hobbling at last weekend’s Truist Championship.

McIlroy explained that the blister is underneath the pinky toe of his right foot, making it difficult to get at. However, it has since been revealed that he soaked his foot in the beath, before ripping off the toenail to get at the blister.

It’s not the ideal preparation, with McIlroy set to wear specially-made shoes to ease the pain caused by the injury.

His compatriot and fellow PGA Champion, Pádraig Harrington, has plenty of sympathy for McIlroy’s injury plight, having suffered numerous similar injuries during his long career.

However, having battled through a wrist injury to win the 2008 Open Championship, Harrington has urged McIlroy simply to battle through and get on with things at Aronimink this weekend.

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Pádraig Harrington on Rory McIlroy’s injury

In quotes published by the Irish Independent, Pádraig Harrington urged Rory McIlroy to battle through the pain barrier at this weekend’s PGA Championship.

If he’s pulled off a nail, it’s very bad and it’s very sore. So he’s got two options: he could sit at home or he could come out and play. Why would you stay at home when you could take a chance and come out and play?

Harrington has dealt with persistent neck, knee, and hand injuries throughout his storied career.

Indeed, McIlroy himself infamously missed the 2015 Open after injuring his leg playing football with friends at home in Northern Ireland.

Injuries are par for the course in golf, and Harrington has little sympathy for anyone tasked with playing through such issues this weekend.

“For a third of all my tournaments, I wasn’t even close to fit to play,” Harrington said.

From 2000 to 2016, when I had my neck operation, I’d say for two-thirds of my tournaments, I wasn’t fit, and for one-third I was completely unfit.

It’s the nature of the game. Everybody is playing through something.

It’s not even beware the injured golfer…everybody’s fighting something.

2008 PGA Champion Harrington is a 1,000/1 outsider for this weekend’s championship, and he tees off at 1:24pm Irish time on Thursday, alongisde Maverick McNealy and Thomas Detry.

Two-time champion Rory McIlroy, by contrast, is right in the mix as one of the tournament favourites, and tees off in the headline group alongside Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth at 1:40pm.

Shane Lowry (6:32pm) and Tom McKibbin (12:40pm) are the other Irish contenders in the field.

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