RONNIE O’SULLIVAN – WILL HE PLAY AT ENGLISH OPEN TODAY?
- Five-time world champion has sprained his ankle – and he’s been told he can’t wear blue trainers tonight
- O’Sullivan wore them yesterday in round one but now cannot – and he hasn’t got any others that are black that fit World Snooker rules
Jimmy White: They should be grateful he’s here
13:17: You can always rely on your mates to back you up, can’t you?
Jimmy White has appeared on Eurosport to nudge snooker chiefs into action by allowing him to wear his blues trainers.
“They should be grateful he’s even here,” White says. Still no update if Ronnie has got some new footwear..
O’Sullivan swelling update
12:35: O’Sullivan has been discussing the injury with Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp, who was in town yesterday to watch his pal.
Replying to the picture, Sharp wrote:” Swelling come out of that a lot since yesterday.”
O’Sullivan replied: “Yeah it has mate got my foot in ice water now.”
There’s still no update over whether the snooker legend has found some suitable trainers.
Another muppet jibe!
11:00: After a small Twitter break – Ronnie is currently having physio this morning – the five-time champ is back in action.
Despite having a sprained ankle, one fan tweeted: “Every major tourn Ronald finds a way to make it all about him vs the players/ World Snooker. Loves the attention. Just play, mate!”
Predictably, it hasn’t gone down well with O’Sullivan, who replied: “Be quiet muppet.”
Can Under Armour save the day?
09:20: Has Ronnie found an answer to his problems – a pair of Under Armour trainers with enough support for his troubled ankle? Maybe.
He’s just tweeted the official @UnderArmour account and wrote: “These might work @UnderArmour can you help get me a pair of these to Barnsley by 5pm #ASAP.”
The clock is counting..
Ronnie has note from GP
09:00: Ronnie is now claiming he has a letter from his GP about his foot problem – although it hasn’t sat well with World Snooker chiefs.
He wrote: “Yeah I got a letter from my doctor but there doctor is saying he’s not agreeable to it.
“I need the world snooker doctor to agree with my doctor or it’s over mars for me.”
Earlier, he tweeted: “I’ve got the whole country on black trainer alert if the country can’t solve it then we are snookered.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan – what is the latest?
08:30: So what has happened? Let us put it in a nutshell for you.
Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Zhang Anda last night 4-1 despite having a sprained ankle, which meant he had to wear a pair of blue trainers.
After the game he was told his footwear had to be black – or he wouldn’t be able to play again. Cue an angry reaction.
O’Sullivan is now desperately hunting a pair of black trainers that are comfortable, will give him enough ankle support AND are black with black soles.
If he doesn’t find some before 7pm, he won’t be able to play Mark Davis in round two.
He tweeted this morning: “Gotta have em by 7pm tonight or I’ll be on the sofa talking about snooker rather then playing snooker.”
Last night, fellow pro Mark Williams wound the five-time world champion up and wrote: “Wonder how many other players @WorldSnooker1 would have let play with TRAINERS on. #iwonder.”
O’Sullivan responded by calling him a “muppet”.