Ronnie O’Sullivan says he will make a late call on playing in World Championship

Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed he will make a late decision on whether to play at the World Snooker Championship.

Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan has not played on the tour since he withdrew midway through his Championship League group in January – snapping his cue after losing four of his five matches.

The 49-year-old subsequently pulled out of the Masters at Alexandra Palace, citing exhaustion after engaging in a gruelling series of exhibition events abroad, and also the German Masters in Berlin.

O’Sullivan then did not play at the Welsh Open or the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong.

Following his withdrawal from the Welsh Open, O’Sullivan apologised to fans who felt frustrated at the situation, but stressed he must continue to prioritise his health and well-being.

O’Sullivan has, though, not yet ruled out making a return to action at the Crucible and will give himself “as much time as possible” to decide ahead of the showpiece tournament, which begins in Sheffield on April 19.

“I don’t know yet. I haven’t made my mind up, I’ll probably make a decision on maybe the 17th or 18th of April,” O’Sullivan said on TNT Sports.

“I don’t know when I’m due to play my first match, so I’m going to try and leave myself as much time as possible.

“I’d love to be able to go there and play, I’d love to be able to have the confidence to be able to get my cue out and go and play snooker.

“I just need to give myself as much time as possible to see where I’m at with it, and see whether it’s something I’m going to be able to do.”

O’Sullivan feels he has been going through a tough spell over the past few years.

“It’s been a real struggle,” he said. “I’ve tried to play my way through. I’ve had moments and glimpses where I thought, ‘OK, this is OK’.

“But on the whole, probably three-and-a-half years out of the last four have been pretty terrible for me and that’s kind of took its toll.

“I kind of got a bit tired. It kind of ground me down to the point where I kind of lost the love for the game.

“That’s why in January, I snapped my cue just in temper, in frustration. I don’t really want to feel like that, so I’ve taken time out.

“I am just gonna try and fix what I think is the problem before I come back to play serious snooker again.”