Colin Montgomerie is confident Tiger Woods will return to golf but believes he may struggle to regain his iconic status.

Montgomerie believes Woods faces a massive battle to resume his major-winning dominance of the sport when he ends his indefinite leave of absence to continue his remarkable career.

The Scot told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek: "That mystique has gone slightly. He will come back but whether he will come back as that iconic player I'm not so sure.

"He's disproved everybody so far and no doubt he'll come back and win more majors. I think it'll be tougher now but he'll be out to prove to everybody that he can still do it under extreme pressure."

European Ryder Cup captain Montgomerie admits he hopes Woods makes himself available for the trans-Atlantic showpiece in spite of the threat he would pose to Europe's chances of claiming the trophy.

Montgomerie added: "We'd love to have him play in the Ryder Cup but no-one's quite sure how long this absence from the game is going to be. Let's hope it's a lot shorter than some people have mentioned.

"It's a shame and a pity this has happened to our iconic sportsman and I say that as a fellow player who has admired him as a golfer.

"You just hope things sort themselves out and he gets back to playing golf and winning tournaments."