Here is the announcement by WST
Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from the BetVictor European Masters in Germany for medical reasons.
O’Sullivan was due to play Andy Hicks in the first round of the world ranking event in Nuremberg on Tuesday at 8pm. Hicks will now receive a bye to the last 64.
WST published this only after Dave Hendon said it in commentary, which is weird. Also the original post by WST suggested that they were still looking for a replacement. They can’t just pick someone at random, and most players high in the Q-School order of merit would have to travel from the UK. The fact that they didn’t immediately announce that Andy Hicks was getting a bye makes me wonder if they already knew early this morning or maybe even before that.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Well, organisers would have someone on standby to cover any withdrawal, although in this event it would have to be one of the 32 held-over players. They wouldn’t have a special ‘Ronnie replacement’, although conceivably they should…
I more and more have the suspicion that organizers only announce it in the last minute to sell as many tickets as possible.