Rory McIlroy took a long time to decide he would represent Ireland at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, but the 27-year-old world No.3 could now miss golf's return to the Games after a 112-year absence because of concerns over the Zika virus.

Brazil's Zika outbreak has been linked to more than 1,300 cases of ­microcephaly, a rare birth defect defined by unusually small heads and something that is clearly a major concern for McIlroy.

"There's going to be a point in the next couple of years where we [McIlroy and fiancée Erica Stoll] are going to have to think about starting a family," McIlroy told the British media after winning the Irish Open over the weekend. "Right now I'm ready to go, but I don't want anything to affect that."