Dustin Johnson ‘going in the right direction’ after pre-Masters fall

Dustin Johnson watches his tee shot on the seventh hole during the final round of the Canadian Open golf tournament, Sunday, July 24, 2016, in Oakville, Ontario. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dustin Johnson‘s team says the golfer is making progress toward being able to play in the Masters after he fell down the stairs a day before the start of the year’s first major.

“We got him to the point where he got mobility,” Johnson’s trainer, Joey Diovisalvi, told Golf Digest on Thursday morning. “He was up and moving around and definitely going in the right direction. He was very much in an under-control point going to bed last night.

“He was walking around, a lot more mobility, took a couple of practice swings slowly without a club.”

Johnson’s status remains uncertain for the Masters.

Diovisalvi said Johnson was disappointed that the accident could knock him out of the event.

“He told us, ‘I’m going to do everything I can to go out and play tomorrow,'” Diovisalvi said. “That basically is his attitude. He was playing with [his son] Tatum. Life sometimes happens. He’s not angry or upset. I’d say more discouraged.”

David Winkle, Johnson’s manager at Hambric Sports, said his client fell on the bare wood stairs at the home he is renting in Augusta. Johnson’s trainer, Joey Diovisalvi, told Masters Radio on SiriusXM on Wednesday night that Johnson was going out to the garage to move a car when he slipped on three wooden steps.

Johnson landed on his lower back and both elbows.

“He landed very hard on his lower back and is now resting, although quite uncomfortably,” Winkle said in an email Wednesday. Winkle added that Johnson was advised to remain immobile and begin a regimen of anti-inflammatory medication and icing in hopes of being able to play Thursday.

What might help Johnson is that he is in the final group for the opening round, scheduled to tee off at 2:03 p.m. ET with two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and PGA champion Jimmy Walker.

Physiotherapist Dr. Ara Suppiah told Golf Digest that they worked to manage Johnson’s pain after the fall.

“The main goal was to control the pain overnight to minimize stiffness and avoid spasms this morning,” Suppiah said. “The team acted very quickly, which makes a huge difference in getting control of the situation and prognosis.”

Johnson was an 11-2 favorite to win the Masters entering Wednesday, according to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. After news of his injury, his odds dropped to 7-1, the same as Jordan Spieth‘s and Rory McIlroy‘s.

The world No. 1 has won three straight tournaments — including a pair of World Golf Championships — heading into the Masters.

If he is unable to play Thursday, Johnson would be the fourth top-ranked player to miss a major championship, joining McIlroy (2015 Open, ankle), Greg Norman (1988 Open, wrist) and Tiger Woods, who missed the 2014 Masters (back surgery), the 2008 Open (ACL surgery) and the 2008 PGA Championship (ACL surgery).

If Johnson cannot play, there are no alternates at the Masters.

Information from ESPN’s Bob Harig and The Associated Press was used in this report.