Dustin Johnson not concerned about his knee

Dustin Johnson is one of the most successful golfers of the past decade, but in the last year or so we haven't seen the DJ that we are used to and a major reason for that was due to his knee injury. On September 5, Johnson underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage to his left knee, an issue he has been struggling with since January.

Last week, Johnson was scheduled to play in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, with the rest of the Presidents Cup team, but he pulled out as he needed a little more time to recover from the surgery.

It seems that Johnson now feels fit and ready, confirming to the media that he's at maximum health.

"I'll play as much as Tiger wants me to play," Johnson said. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready to play... I'm as good as I can be."

Johnson has been selected to take part in the first day of action in Melbourne on Thursday, as he and US Open champion Gary Woodland take on Abraham Ancer and Louis Oosthuizen.

When DJ pulled out of the Hero World Challenge, a tournament hosted by his captain Tiger Woods, many thought that Johnson would become the second player to pull out of the Presidents Cup, after Brooks Koepka was replaced by Rickie Fowler following his knee injury, but Johnson made it clear he never had any intentions of withdrawing.

"I was close to ready, I just didn't feel like I was 100 percent," he said. "I just wanted that extra week to be ready for this. I felt like the extra 10 days was a big help.

"There was no issue with my knee. Everything has gone very well. The only—with the driver, and not on the range, more when I was playing, every once in a while I'd feel my knee in the transition. So it was just something I needed to work through. Even though there wasn't any pain."

Johnson said he started practicing again roughly three or four weeks after the surgery, meaning he's had a good nine weeks of practice before flying out to Melbourne.

Woods made it clear that there was no doubt in his mind about picking Johnson for the first round of matches, even though DJ hasn't played competitively since he finished last at the Tour Championship and hasn't finished better than T20 since May.

"More than anything with DJ, it's just making sure that he recovered from the flight," Woods said. "He's feeling good. He's worked out each and every day we've been here. His lifts have been good. Game is coming along, and he was chomping at the bit to get out there."