PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Rory McIlroy will not arrive at TPC Sawgrass for THE PLAYERS Championship until Wednesday at the earliest as he continues to receive treatment on a back injury that forced him to withdraw from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

McIlroy, the defending THE PLAYERS champion, provided an update to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis on Monday afternoon.

“The back is being a bit more stubborn than we thought, so I’m staying at home today and tomorrow to continue treatment in South Florida with the hope to travel to Ponte Vedra on Wednesday at some point,” McIlroy said, according to Lewis.

McIlroy felt a “twinge” in his back while warming up for the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard last Saturday. The issue devolved into “muscle spasms” when he began to hit balls, leading him to withdraw from the event.

It was just the second time in his career that McIlroy withdrew midway through a tournament. The previous withdrawal occurred during the 2013 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches due to pain in his wisdom teeth.

McIlroy is scheduled to tee off Thursday at 1:42 p.m. ET alongside Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama. McIlroy has played in every THE PLAYERS Championship since 2012. If he plays this week, McIlroy will attempt to join Jack Nicklaus as the only three-time winners of the event.