Mark Allen, David Gilbert and Ronnie have all withdrawn from the 2024 Wuhan Open.

This is the announcement regarding Mark Allen:

Allen Withdraws From Wuhan Open

Mark Allen has pulled out of next week’s Wuhan Open due to a family illness

Allen was due to face Jamie Clarke in the second round of the world ranking event in Wuhan, China on Monday October 7th. Clarke will receive a bye to the last 32.

Allen said: “My apologies to the Chinese promoters and fans for missing this event due to a family illness. I hope to see them all in Nanjng for the International Championship.“

And this one is for Ronnie and David Gilbert:

O’Sullivan Withdraws From Wuhan Open

Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of next week’s Wuhan Open in China due to medical reasons.

O’Sullivan was due to face Mitchell Mann in the opening round on Sunday, but will now be replaced by Mark Joyce. 

David Gilbert has also withdrawn from the event due to medical reasons.

This piece by Phil Haigh explains more about Dave Gilbert’s issues and Ronnie’s intentions.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Dave Gilbert withdraw from Wuhan Open

Phil Haigh

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Dave Gilbert have both withdrawn from the Wuhan Open, which starts on Sunday, citing medical reasons.

It is little surprise that the Rocket has pulled out of the event after stating in recent interviews that his next trip to China is planned for November’s International Championship.

Gilbert is certainly more of a shock having been in impressive form so far this season, but the world number 19 is struggling with a back problem.

Despite picking up a lot of good results this campaign, the Farmer has been suffering with sciatica and it is currently too bad to make the long trip to Wuhan.

The 43-year-old played in International Championship qualifying on Wednesday, beating Bai Yulu 6-2 but really struggling with pain in his back.

O’Sullivan has been replaced in the draw by mark Joyce, who will play Mitchell Mann in the opening round.

There has been no announcement yet on whether Gilbert will be replaced in his opening round tie against Wang Xinbo.

The withdrawals follow world number three Mark Allen pulling out of the event on Wednesday due to a family illness.

Explaining his back problem to Metro.co.uk in August, Gilbert said: ‘I’m a farmer so I just get on with it, but it’s agony! Three or four weeks I’ve been struggling, it’s bad!

‘I’m alright when I’m down on the shot, it’s the getting round the table, I’m just dragging my feet round.

‘It’s basically my right side. It started in me back, then a few days later it got worse, it was like I got shot in my arse! Down there and down my right leg, it’s horrible. Can’t get comfy, sleeping’s a nightmare, walking’s the worst though.’

O’Sullivan told Virgin Radio of his scheduling plans up till Christmas: ‘I will enter them [tournaments] and if I feel like the day before I want to go then I’ll go but if I’m not up for it then I’ll just say I’m not ready for it. They’ll always get a replacement to come in and take my place.’

On his plans to play in Asia he added: ‘Possibly yeah in November, just outside of Shanghai. That’s a ranking event, quite a big tournament, I’ll play in that and then I’ll go to another city in China and play in an Asian PTC event which is just for Chinese players but they’ve invited me to go along and play, so I’ll go and do that as well.

‘I’ll come back and probably have a week off then probably go to York because it’s the UK Championships and I like York. Then off to Macau again at Christmas. That’s the plan.’

Whatever the family illness is that affects Mark Allen, I wish him and his family the best possible outcome.

Regarding Dave Gilbert, sciatica is a very, very painful condition and one that doesn’t go away easily. One thing is certain though, he needs to rest and he might have to stay away from the table for quite some time. If such is the case, I hope that WST will do the right thing and “freeze” his ranking. Although, of course, that’s far from easy to do with the money list system. It would be very easy with an ELO system, and more feasible with a point system than with the current money list. I wish Dave the best, and I hope that his condition will improve rapidly.

As for Ronnie being Ronnie… we can only wait and see. It’s not the first “hiatus” in his career, and probably won’t be the last. If he sticks to his plan he won’t play in the 2024 Northern Ireland Open either, nor will he play in the 2024 Champion of Champions.