Abu Dhabi: Darren Clarke insists Rory McIlroy can claim his first Masters crown on April 6 to complete a full set of major titles, despite his lengthy injury layoff.

The world No. 3 McIlroy has not played competitively since suffering a stress fracture to one of his ribs during the South African Open in January, where he lost a play-off to Graeme Storm.

McIlroy, who caused outrage in some quarters by playing a round of golf with controversial American president Donald Trump last weekend, has targeted next week’s WGC-Mexico Championship for his professional comeback ahead of the April 6 major at the Augusta National. And his Northern Irish compatriot Darren Clarke insists McIlroy’s recent inactivity won’t hinder his chances of securing the coveted Green Jacket.

“I think he’ll be fine,” Clarke, who was Europe’s 2016 Ryder Cup captain, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview in Abu Dhabi. “If ever there was a golf course that was built for Rory McIlroy [with his ball striking], it was Augusta, so I imagine he will [win there one day]. Will the layoff affect him? Not at all. Not at all.”

If McIlroy does prevail at the Masters — where his best finish was fourth in 2015 — he would become the sixth man to win all four majors after Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

Meanwhile, Clarke rejected Open champion Henrik Stenson’s suggestions that McIlroy should tone down his aggressive hitting to avoid further injuries.

Stenson made these feelings clear at last month’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, which McIlroy had to pull out off due to the rib stress fracture.

“But if you take a look at the all young kids these days, they’re all proper athletes, they’re all proper fit,” countered Clarke, a long-term mentor to, and friend of, McIlroy’s.

“They’re lifting, they’re running, they’re doing whatever they have to do [to improve]. It just seems a lot of them do get injured because of the speed they’re generating on their golf swings. That’s going to happen more and more regularly.

“The modern game is hitting it as hard as they can and Rory is one of the longest [drivers] in the world.”

Clarke, 48, also had words of encouragement for a golfer with even more serious injury concerns — Tiger Woods.

The 14-time major champion has plummeted to 704 in the world rankings after being plagued by back problems, which forced him to pull out of the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this month after the first round.

But Clarke, who took part in the Gary Player Invitational Event at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, said: “Can he win another major? Tiger has been written off in the past. I think it’s a tad foolish to write him off just yet.

“He’s one of the best players the world has ever seen, so you don’t all of a sudden lose all your ability. He may never be the consistent player that he was again, but in terms of winning tournaments? Has he got the talent and the ability to win a major?

“I think he does. Whether he does or not, we shall see. But people have written him off before at their peril.”