RORY McIlroy could miss next week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship due to a back injury.

The Northern Irishman played through the pain in losing a play-off to Graeme Storm at the BMW SA Open yesterday after revealing on Friday morning that he had considered pulling out of the event due to the problem.

McIlroy initially cited the problem as suspected fatigue after an off-season that has seen him hit a lot of balls in practice trying to decide on new equipment after former supplier Nike decided to stop producing clubs last year.

But the world No. 2 will now undergo a scan on Monday to make sure the problem is nothing more sinister after playing in Johannesburg with his back taped up and taking anti-inflammatories.

American stars Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler – the defending champion – will be playing in Abu Dhabi and it would be a big blow for McIlroy to miss an event that has seen him finish outside the top three just three times in nine appearances.

“I am going for a scan tomorrow,” he told the European Tour’s official website. “I fly to Dubai tonight and then will go for an MRI tomorrow just to see what’s up with this joint in my back.

“It was manageable this week with tape and a few pills so I am fine but first and foremost I have to get fully fit and healthy again and hopefully I’ll be alright to play next week.

“We will see what happens but like I said, it is manageable with the tape and a few anti-inflammatories but it’s not 100 per cent.

“Part of me really wants to make this week because there is so much to play for, but at the same time there is so much to play for over the whole season and I don’t want to jeopardise long-term goals for short-term gain. Hopefully I’ll be good to go.”

Storm, meanwhile, was delighted to pip McIlroy in yesterday’s play-off, 83 days after losing his European Tour card by 100 euros.

Storm was given a reprieve when Patrick Reed failed to play enough events to join the Tour and he made the most of his second coming in Johannesburg. Starting the day three shots clear of the world number two, he almost buckled under the heat as McIlroy made five birdies in a final-round of 68.

But the Northern Irishman’s bogey on the par-three 17th teed up a play-off which the Hartlepool man took.

He held his nerve to sink a putt after McIlroy had finished the first time they went back up the 18th hole, but when McIlroy drove wildly the second time, he had a chance.

His first shot was not ideal either, though, following McIlroy into the rough, and back they went again.

The third time out, McIlroy’s second shot on the par-four was a poor one, falling short of the green, and a 45-foot putt from Storm that skipped just past allowed him to take a par. And when McIlroy failed from seven feet, the title was Storm’s – his second European Tour title and first since he won the French Open in 2007.

“I am speechless. It’s been incredible and I can’t quite believe it,” he said.

“This is a dream come true, especially after what happened to me last year with my card and everything. I really took a lot from that experience and told myself to try and grasp the opportunity of getting my livelihood back with both hands and I have done that this week.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling. I hung in there today and didn’t play my best stuff but I knew if I could hang in there that I might get my chance and thankfully it came.

“It really means everything to me to be in the winner’s circle again.

“I have been to hell and back to be honest with you. It’s been an absolute rollercoaster over the last year and a half – especially the end of last year.

“There was pressure today but not the same pressure as trying to keep your European Tour card. That’s real pressure and something I don’t want to feel for a long time.”