Luke Donald on Poulter and Stenson? "No captain has had to deal with this"

Luke Donald says he's "not too worried" what his European side will look like in Rome as he reacted to Ian Poulter's suggestion he may snub the Ryder Cup after a year of acrimony. 

Donald, 45, replaced Henrik Stenson as Ryder Cup Europe captain in August following the Swede's remarkable heel-turn to LIV Golf for a deal reportedly worth $40m. 

Once the Englishman got the nod he sent a not-so-subtle dig towards the 2016 Open champion by claiming he "wasn't going to do a Henrik" and vowed to see the job through. 

The days are ticking away quickly ahead of the 44th Ryder Cup and Donald still doesn't know what will happen with the LIV players. 

The fate of the so-called "rebels" will be determined in February at sports arbitration hearing. 

Related: Stenson believes LIV players will win legal showdown

GolfDigest have reported that sources close to the DP World Tour believe the LIV players will prevail, thus allowing them to continue participating in events on the European-based circuit and earn Ryder Cup points. 

A number of LIV Golf players participated in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links. 

Those players included the aforementioned Stenson and Poulter, alongside Lee Westwood. 

Stenson insisted he had no regrets although he revealed the past six months have been particularly difficult. 

Westwood questioned the future of the DP World Tour and took aim at their strategic alliance with the PGA Tour. 

And Poulter was confident he wasn't going to receive one of Donald's six picks. 

Donald told Sky Sports of the current state of play: 

The 2023 Ryder Cup will be played at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome. 

It will be the 44th match between Europe and the U.S. 

The U.S. battered Europe at the 2021 Ryder Cup, winning 19-9. 

Next page: Spain emerges as favourite to host 2031 Ryder Cup