Guy Kinnings said Montgomerie would wait as long as possible before making up his mind whether to enter next week's German Masters, the Amex Championship in Ireland and the Ryder Cup.

"His intention is still to play in these three events but he wants to wait and see to make sure he would not do himself any further damage," said Kinnings.

Montgomerie pulled out of the NEC Invitational in Seattle during the second round last month with a recurrence of the back injury which has troubled him all year.

He withdrew from last week's BMW International Open in Munich and coach Denis Pugh rated him as no more than 50-50 for the Ryder Cup.

But Kinnings said he expected Montgomerie to be part of the European team at The Belfry from 27-29 September.

"Knowing how much the Ryder Cup means to him, I think it would take a herd of wild horses to keep him from playing," he added.

Montgomerie's absence would be a major blow to European captain Sam Torrance as he has not lost a Ryder Cup singles match in five appearances, with three wins and two half points.

Kinnings said Montgomerie was in touch with Torrance on a daily basis, and that Ireland's Padraig Harrington was also expected to recover from his neck and ankle problems in time to play.

Ian Poulter has been targeted as the immediate replacement should Montgomerie or Harrington be forced to pull out.

Of the remaining 12-man squad, many have struggled to recapture their form of last season.

Jesper Parnevik has missed the cut seven times this season on the US Tour.

And Lee Westwood, Niclas Fasth and Pierre Fulke have rarely shown their best form in recent tournaments.