Justin Thomas will have to wait before getting his 2026 season underway after confirming he would miss the start of the year through injury.
The two-time major champion was coming off a strong 2025 season, capped by a win at the RBC Heritage – his first PGA Tour victory since 2022.
With that current form, Thomas has arguably made the strongest case for a captain’s pick on Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup team, and has also climbed to eighth in the world rankings.
Unfortunately, the Louisville native is currently sidelined after having undergone back surgery. As a result, he has ruled himself out of the start of the 2026 campaign.
Justin Thomas gives timeline for return after back surgery
There is some worry around the game that Thomas could rush back before he is fully ready, but so far, he seems determined to take his time and get things right.
The 32-year-old discussed how the injury had affected him during the 2025 season during an appearance on the No Laying Up Podcast.
He also gave a rough idea of how much time he might miss in 2026.
“It’s so weird. I walk completely fine. I feel like I could go walk as much as I possibly want right now, but I can’t do anything. So the weirdest part is not doing anything because I’m not supposed to, not because I physically can’t.
“Early on, it was easier. From the sounds of it from the doctor, the procedure, it’s just a microdiscectomy. It’s what a lot of spine surgeons, orthopaedics would choose to do from the sounds of it. It was a 40 minute surgery, the size of my thumbnail where he went in. It’s still covered so I don’t know what it is, but the bandaid is very small,” Thomas stated.
He added: “It’s very basic when it comes to a back surgery if you will. My disc was very, very compressed onto my nerve and that’s what caused all of it. It just was going down my leg pretty bad – and that was the weird part, I had no back pain in the whole year. Not once did my back hurt or anything so that was where it was a bit of a shock.
“But it was just something where it’s a couple of months recovery process. I’ll probably miss a couple of events in ’26, but my thing is I didn’t want to just get an injection and basically bandaid it to mask the pain when in reality the issue was probably still going to be there, at least as far along as I had it from the sound of the doctors I talked to.
“If I would have maybe been a month into symptoms, an injection and some time off could have healed it. But feeling this for six to eight months like I had, that had sailed. So yeah, no bending, lifting or twisting, so I’m just there. I can’t do anything.”
Justin Thomas’ likely comeback event after injury layoff
There is a silver lining for Justin Thomas in the cancellation of The Sentry next season.
He has only missed that event once in the past 10 years, and would have likely made another appearance in 2026 if it had been on the calendar.
It looks as though Thomas will also miss The American Express, where he placed in the top three over the last two seasons. Naturally, that will be a frustrating one for him to sit out.
The new year gets into gear with Pebble Beach hosting the season’s first signature event. From there, things pick up pace quickly with tournaments like the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, and The Players Championship following soon after.
This stretch of events ultimately builds towards Augusta National and The Masters in April. Based on his recent remarks, it seems likely that Thomas is eyeing one of those early signature events as his comeback target, aiming to be fully prepared by the time The Masters comes around.
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