KEVIN Spurgeon’s long-awaited return to action was hampered by a knee injury in the Mallorca Senior Open at Pula Golf Club.

In the first European Senior Tour event of the year, Spurgeon finished on Sunday in a share of 52nd place after rounds of 73, 76 and 75.

“I actually started the competition quite well,” said the 56-year-old Ferndown touring professional.

“But I woke up the next morning with an awful pain in my knee, and could hardly move,” he added.

“I can’t remember exactly when I injured it, but the second nine at Pula is very up and down and something must have happened then.”

After a course of pain-killers and physiotherapy, Spurgeon was back to full fitness for the final day.

“Unfortunately the damage had been done on the second day,” said Spurgeon, whose final day was blighted by a triple bogey at the second.

“On a 175-yard hole, I hit a six iron 190 yards and went out of bounds at the back of the green,” he explained.

“After that I scored well, but lost a bit of concentration on the final stretch and dropped shots at the last three holes.”

The European Senior Tour gets into full swing next month, with Spurgeon playing four consecutive weeks, starting in Spain on June 1.

“I’ve played a few holes this week and everything seems fine with the knee, so I am looking forward to a string of competitions,” said Spurgeon.