That old C-5 disk injury that occasionally, but worryingly, afflicts Padraig Harrington caused him to enlist the aid of his physiotherapist, Dale Richardson, in mid-round yesterday here at the National Course.

So, rather than gracing the fairways with his massive and accurate drives, the abiding memory of Harrington's second round was one more suited to WWE Smackdown as, gripped in the type of headlock you'd expect from Batista or The Undertaker, he cringed in agony as Richardson performed emergency treatment by the 10th green and again on the 11th fairway in an effort to alleviate the muscle spasms in the player's back.

Later, sitting on the steps of the recorder's hut after signing for a second successive round of 72 that left him on 144, level par, Harrington insisted the problem was not a long-term concern.

"I had standard physio before the round and a part of it was a little bit of adjustment (to the area around the C-5 vertebrae). Unfortunately, that adjustment didn't go too well. Because I haven't played tournaments for two months, I hadn't had that type of adjustment and it just flared up. I suppose the muscle is locked up more than you realise," he said.

Harrington first incorporated gym exercise into his fitness regime after he was afflicted with the injury at the US PGA championship in Hazeltine in 2002, where he also required on-course manipulation from Richardson.

When receiving the treatment yesterday, Harrington's face contorted. It wasn't an act.

"You can be sure I was feeling it. Having somebody press on something that was already in spasm and inflamed is never pleasant," he said.

However, there was no thought of pulling out of the tournament, the British Open champion's first of the year.

"It may be an issue tomorrow. It may be an issue on Sunday. But I don't see it being an issue beyond that . . . if I was due to play a tournament next week, though, I wouldn't play.

"Normally, I might need adjustment once a month but, because I left it alone for two months, it just didn't respond very well. It's just one of those things. But I'd say I was never as physically better balanced than I am now. I'm not concerned."

In fact, Harrington will have some familiar company for the third round as he is paired with Darren Clarke.

Damien McGrane rued some missed chances on the way in yesterday, but signed for a 72 that left him on 142, two under, and leading the Irish challenge.

"I'm happy enough. I played a lot of good golf. It's a good test of golf here and if you play well, you'll do okay. But if you play badly, you'll just get hammered."

Another player to adopt a philosophical attitude was Rory McIlroy, who bogeyed the closing hole to rest alongside Harrington and Clarke on level par.

"There's a lot of good players on my score, so it is not the end of the world. I will go out tomorrow, shoot something in the 60s and aim for a top 10."