Kai Trump, the 19-year-old granddaughter of US president Donald Trump, has revealed she has undergone wrist surgery in New York after injuring herself during her first university golf tournament in South Carolina in early September, putting her freshman season at the University of Miami on hold.

She announced the operation on Wednesday 14 October in an Instagram post, sharing a hospital bed selfie that showed her left arm bandaged and in a sling. Trump said the surgery was to repair a wrist injury sustained during her debut tournament of the season.

She did not say how severe the injury was, and no formal medical report has been released. She gave no timetable for a return to competition, saying only that recovery 'will take time'.

'While I had hoped to avoid surgery, after talks with my family, coaches, and athletic training staff I know I made the best decision,' she wrote, adding that it was for her long-term health and her future in golf.

How Kai Trump Says the Wrist Injury Happened

Trump said she struck the ground beside a cart path during her first event for Miami's women's team and felt a 'shock' up her arm. She finished the tournament, but scans later showed ligament damage.

She first tried to avoid an operation, undergoing stem cell treatment overseen by Dr Jeffrey Wiegers. She also described feeling a second sharp pain while hitting her driver, saying it felt as though she had torn the wrist again. When non-surgical treatment did not deliver enough progress, she opted for surgery.

The operation took place at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Trump thanked Dr Michelle Carlson and 'the incredible team at HSS' for their care.

The wrist has troubled her before. In January, when she was 18 and still a high school senior, she underwent surgery on her left wrist to address damage to the stabilising tissues around the ECU tendon and to her triangular fibrocartilage complex.

That operation was performed at the Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute by Dr Thomas Graham. At the time she said she was looking forward to playing golf 'pain-free'.

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Wrist Surgery Puts Kai Trump's Miami Golf Plans on Ice

Trump joined the University of Miami in August. Her family home is in Jupiter, Florida. She is one of nine players on the Hurricanes' women's roster, and the injury leaves her out early in her first college season. She has previously said she hopes to pursue a professional career and believes Miami is the right place to do it.

'It's certainly not how I envisioned the next few months, but sometimes the journey takes an unexpected turn,' she wrote. She said she was choosing to meet the setback 'with patience, and a whole lot of determination'.

She thanked her team-mates, coaches and family for their support, saying that having 'the right people by your side makes all the difference'.

'For now, it's all about healing, and trusting the process,' she wrote. 'I can't wait to be back with my team, doing what I love. I'll be back before you know it, stronger and more grateful than ever! Go Canes!'

It is not known how long doctors expect her to be out, so any return date remains unconfirmed.

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