Henrik Stenson is confident he will not be affected by a nagging elbow problem at the Ryder Cup, but acknowledges he may play fewer matches than in previous years.

Stenson withdrew from the Scottish Open in July and The Northern Trust the following month due to his injury.

Yet the Swede insists the issue can be managed effectively at Le Golf National as he plays in a fifth Ryder Cup.

"It's been dragging on a bit, but I've thought for the most part I've been fit enough to play competitive golf," he explained on the eve of the event.

"It's probably been more of a hindrance in the gym, not being able to do certain things and having to watch that a bit.

"But we hope that it's going to be completely gone there in a while and, yeah, we're just managing it. It doesn't really affect my golfing capabilities at this point."

Asked if he was likely to play all five matches in France, Stenson replied: "We've got a very strong and deep team. I think there's a possibility of playing potentially a bit less than previous matches, but we'll see.

"It's still early doors, and we'll see what the pairings are going to be like."

European captain Thomas Bjorn could well opt to pair Stenson with Justin Rose, the duo having claimed three wins from as many outings together at Gleneagles four years ago.

When it was put to Stenson that Rose had expressed delight at his selection 24 hours earlier, the jovial Swede sparked giggles in the interview room by replying: "Oh, isn't that sweet?"

Stenson duly added: "We were teamed up together at Gleneagles and had tremendous success in that partnership. We didn't do quite as well at Hazeltine [winning once and losing twice against Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed], but we still played well together.

"Trust and chemistry is important in the team format, and we all know that Justin and I have got a good partnership."