Corornaviris: McIlroy waits for decision of Olympic coronavirus

Rory McIlroy returned to world number one for the first time in five years for the first time in five years

Rory McIlroy says he will play at the Olympic Games if it continues despite fear of coronavirus after withdrawing from the 2016 Games due to the Zika virus.

World number one defended his decision to miss the Rio Olympics, although the risk of catching Zika was low.

McIlroy will compete for Ireland this summer in his first Olympic Games. "If they think it's safe to go to Tokyo, I'm on the plane on my way there," said the four-fold big winner.

He added: "I think everyone should be worried about coronavirus and what is happening around the world.

" The Olympic committee has the best people to trust in them to to tell if the games should go on or not – they know better than I do. "

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McIlroy was among some of the leading players to withdraw from the 2016 Olympic Games because of Zika virus.

"People just don't feel comfortable going downstairs and endangering themselves or their families," he said at the time.

"When the Olympics in most other cities or countries, you would not find so many people who do not want to go.

"There are still a Games in Tokyo in 2020 and I am more than happy to wait until then to get that Olympic experience"

However, his decision was questioned by the Irish gold medal boxer Katie Taylor, who said there was "more chance of being killed by a spider in Australia" than that Zika was caught in Brazil.