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NEIL ROBERTSON has withdrawn from the Northern Ireland Open due to a Chinese cold that left him bed-ridden and struggling to breathe.
The Australian potter, 43, was due to face Englishman David Grace in round one of the Northern Ireland Open on Monday.
Yet he will not travel to Belfast as he has been struggling with a “respiratory” issue that he had picked up after returning home from the Xi’an Grand Prix, where he lost in the Last 32 to China’s He Guoqiang.
It was a week ago that the symptoms got extremely bad and left him with no choice but to stay in bed.
The former world snooker champion says “it was one of the worst experiences I’ve gone through” as he tried to recover from the nasty bug that originated in the Far Eastern city.
The Thunder from Down Under has now been forced to make the decision to pull out of the main draw of the Home Nations event, which is one of the few trophies not on his decorated CV.
The world No.3 said on his social media account: “After coming back from China I picked up a brutal respiratory virus in Xi’an that didn’t hit me until Sunday.
“It made breathing anything above 40% a challenge and bed ridden for almost six days.
“I’ve never experienced anything like it and can quite honestly say it was one of the worst experiences I’ve gone through.
“I’m on the mend now but still quite a way to go, and for this reason I had no choice but to withdraw from Northern Ireland.
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“It’s the only Home Nation event I haven’t won so it was high on my agenda this season.
“It’s a shame to miss it but sadly had no choice.”
Bradford-born Grace, 40, gets a bye into the next round as it is too late to call up someone to replace Robertson in time for the action at the Waterfront Hall, which begins on Sunday.
Judd Trump, the world No.1, is hoping to rescue an awful start to the season when he plays in the Northern Ireland Open this week.
But he has a tricky clash on Sunday evening against Scottish cueist Anthony McGill.
Kyren Wilson, who is chasing Trump’s position at the summit of the world ranking, takes on Oliver Lines on Tuesday afternoon.
The Warrior is the defending champion, having beaten the Juddernaut 9–3 in the 2024 final.
Wilson – whose last appearance on Tour was a 5-0 thrashing by Shaun Murphy in Xi’an – says his wife is on the mend after going through surgery a few months ago.
The worry and stress as she went under the knife in August was a factor as he suffered a series of early-round exits.
