Ronnie O'Sullivan pulls out of another tournament with 'medical reasons' cited as absence stretches to third month

Snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan has pulled out of the Weide Cup World Open.

The Rocket was due to take on Stuart Carrington in a first-round clash on February 23 but he has now been replaced by Daniel Womersley, as his absence from the sport stretches into a third month. O'Sullivan had withdrawn from the Masters in January where he was due to play John Higgins just over a day before the eagerly anticipated clash - and then called off a Welsh Open appearance hours on the morning of his match.

Scots hero Stephen Hendry had speculated that he could return to action at the Grand Prix in Hong Kong, however he's now called off a warm-up event for the tournament - with the WST issuing a statement on February 18 saying: "Ronnie O'Sullivan has pulled out of next week's Weide Cup World Open for medical reasons.

"O'Sullivan was due to face Stuart Carrington in the opening round this Sunday, but instead he will be replaced by the highest ranked available player on the 2024 Q School Order of Merit, Daniel Womersley. The tournament in Yushan, China, runs from February 23 to March 1."

Speaking about his decision to pull out of the Masters, O'Sullivan said “I’ve been on this three-week trip away playing, and I think I just exhausted myself. It's a lot of pressure, the buildup of all that got a bit too much. I lost the plot on Thursday, snapped my cue so that’s unplayable.

"I just knew at that moment in time, the right decision was to not play, and in such a big tournament, I thought whoever was going to come in should at least have a couple of days’ notice." Fellow tour player Matthew Selt meanwhile believes that Ronnie might never return to action competitively.

He said: "You might not see him until the worlds and then there’s a