Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed he is ‘alright’ after pulling out of the Masters on medical grounds.
The 49-year-old had been expected to feature in the prestigious competition, having beaten Ali Carter in the final of the same tournament 12 months ago.
Yet O’Sullivan sensationally withdrew on Friday, with ‘medical grounds’ cited as the reason for his absence.
The snooker icon has now broken his silence on the matter and was asked about his wellbeing on Eurosport.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed he is ‘alright’ after pulling out of the Masters on medical grounds
PA
He replied by saying: “I’m alright, not too bad.”
O’Sullivan also shed more light on his withdrawal, admitting he had found it a ‘nightmare’ at having to pull out at such short notice.
“It was a nightmare decision really to make. If you’d have asked me on Sunday if I was ready to play, I’d probably have been OK. But it’s such a massive tournament,” he continued.
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“I’d been on a three-week trip away playing and I just think I exhausted myself… a lot of pressure while I was away. The build-up of all that just got a bit too much really.
“I lost the plot on Thursday, snapped my cue, so that’s unplayable.
“I knew at that moment in time the right decision was to not play such a big tournament. I thought whoever was to come in should have had at least a couple of days’ notice.”
With O’Sullivan not involved in the competition, Neil Robertson took his place.
The 42-year-old performed well on Sunday as he secured a 6-5 victory over John Higgins.
And Robertson couldn’t resist a dig at snooker icon Stephen Hendry following his victory, with the snooker star previously namechecked as one of the best players playing with ‘no risk’.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan won the Masters last year by beating Ali Carter
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“Yeah I don’t think Stephen Hendry is going to give me too much stick about that one,” he said.
Robertson also said he was pleased with his performance, while he showed class by hailing Hendry on his display.
“It was an unbelievable match,” he continued.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been replaced by Neil Robertson at the Masters
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“John was playing incredibly well to get to 5-1 and he didn’t really do anything wrong.
“I played at my absolute best. I’m so happy that I could take my chance with Ronnie dropping out and give the crowd something to cheer about.”
The final of the Masters will take place on Sunday.