Tiger Woods Gets Rod, Screws and Pins to Repair Badly Damaged Leg, Doctors Confirm

Tiger Woods suffered comminuted open fractures in his right leg -- meaning the bone was shattered in at least 2 places and broke through the skin -- so doctors used a rod to stabilize it, according to Tiger's medical team.

Dr. Anish Mahajan -- Chief Medical Officer at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center -- just issued a statement describing Tiger's injuries in detail ... and it sounds bad. Note, he only mentions injuries to ONE of Tiger's legs, not both.

"Mr. Woods suffered significant orthopedic injuries to his right lower extremity that were treated during emergency surgery by Orthopaedic trauma specialists," Mahajan says.

"Comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bones were stabilized by inserting a rod into the tibia."

A comminuted fracture is when the bone breaks into several pieces, according to WebMD. And, the fact it's "open" means the bones broke through the skin.

Dr. Mahajan says Tiger also suffered serious injuries to his right ankle and foot -- which were stabilized "with a combination of screws and pins."

He continued, "Trauma to the muscle and soft-tissue of the leg required surgical release of the covering of the muscles to relieve pressure due to swelling."

Tiger is currently "awake, responsive, and recovering in his hospital room," according to Tiger's PR team ... which also added a statement from his camp.

"Thank you to the wonderful doctors and hospital staff at Harbor UCLA Medical Center, the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department, and the Fire Department. Your support and assistance has been outstanding."