Sports Shorts: Tiger undergoes back surgery; Former England defender Ehiogu dies

A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday

Former world number one Tiger Woods said on Thursday he has undergone further surgery to help alleviate pain in his back and leg and could be away from competitive golf for another six months.

Woods, who has not played a tournament since pulling out of a European Tour event in February because of back spasms, has now undergone surgery on his ailing back four times since early 2014.

"The surgery went well, and I'm optimistic this will relieve my back spasms and pain," Woods, 41, said in a statement on his website. "When healed, I look forward to getting back to a normal life, playing with my kids, competing in professional golf and living without the pain I have been battling so long."

According to the statement the 14-time major winner will rest for several weeks before beginning therapy and treatment and, while each procedure and case is unique, patients typically return to full activity in about six months.

Due to previous herniations and three operations, Woods' bottom lower-back disc severely narrowed, causing sciatica and severe back and leg pain, according to the statement.

The statement said that conservative therapy, which included rehabilitation, medication, limiting activity and injections, had failed as a permanent solution, and Woods opted to have surgery.

Former England defender Ehiogu dies after cardiac arrest

Former England and Aston Villa defender Ugo Ehiogu has died in hospital aged 44 following a cardiac arrest, Tottenham Hotspur said on Friday.

Ehiogu, who worked as Tottenham's under-23 coach, had collapsed at the North London club's training ground on Thursday.

He passed away in the early hours of Friday, the Premier League title contenders said in a statement.

"Words cannot express the shock and sadness that we all feel at the Club," said Tottenham's head of coaching and development John McDermott. "Ugo's immense presence will be irreplaceable."

Ehiogu, who started out as a trainee at West Bromwich Albion but spent most of his career at Aston Villa, was capped four times by England.

He would doubtless have won more caps but for injury and competition from younger defenders like Rio Ferdinand and John Terry.

As well as playing more than 200 times in nine years for Villa, London-born Ehiogu played 126 games for Middlesbrough after becoming their then-record signing for eight million pounds ($10.24 million) in 2000.

He won the League Cup with both Villa and Middlesbrough.

Power line kills fans watching Utd vs Anderlecht match in Nigeria

Seven Nigerian football fans died when a high-powered electricity line fell onto a building where they were watching Manchester United play Anderlecht on television late on Thursday, police said.

Another 11 people were injured, one of them critically, in the coastal city of Calabar, an officer added.

A transformer exploded, sending a high-tension power wire falling onto the building's roof during the broadcast of the Europa League quarter final, Tony Ine, a local resident who was walking past at the time, told Reuters.

President Muhammadu Buhari sent his condolences on Friday, as did Manchester United on its Twitter account.

"Our thoughts go out to the United fans, their friends and families affected by the tragedy in Calabar, Nigeria," the club wrote.