Snooker star Luca Brecel lifts lid on mystery illness that has left doctors baffled

Luca Brecel has been forced to sit out of events over the past five months due to unexplained health issues, which have baffled doctors and left him unable to exercise

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Former world champion snooker star Luca Brecel has revealed that his absence from the sport has been due to a mystery illness.

Brecel has been an intermittent presence this season, having taken time out of the game for health reasons. The 30-year-old played at the English Open last week, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to Zhou Yuelong.

But that was his first appearance since April at the World Championship, having withdrawn from qualifying for the Saudi Arabia Masters and skipped the Wuhan Open. There had been speculation that the Belgian was taking time out of the sport for mental health reasons, but Brecel has now given a different explanation.

“Some people have come up to me and said ‘oh, is it mental health?’ and they have tried to help,” Brecel told The Sun. “It’s not my head. I’m perfectly happy. I’m fine. It’s not mental.

“It’s physical things in my body. Strange. I’ve been to the doctor many, many times. Maybe 18 times in three to four months.

“There must be something wrong. But they cannot find anything. I have to deal with it. At least I can play again. I’m happy to be at the table. All of a sudden it happened and no-one knows what it is. Still trying to figure it out, I’ve still got scans to do. It’s my body doing strange things.

“Obviously because I wanted to feel good first, and then compete in tournaments, so I’ve been waiting to feel better. And it didn’t quite happen. So I thought, well, I’m just going to play now. Whatever happens, I’m just going to play, whatever I feel.

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“I feel okay in the game. It’s not every moment of the game, but it’s good enough. I’ve not been able to do exercises obviously with all the problems. I was really at quite a good point, doing long-distance running and cycling. So, it’s a bit of a pity that that happened. But obviously this is life. It’s going to be ups and downs.”

Brecel was on top of the world in 2023, having beaten Mark Selby at the Crucible to clinch the World Championship title. But he is now ranked just 41st in the world, with his health issues taking their toll.

Should he drop out of the top 64 in the world then Brecel would have to enter Q School in January 2026. For now, he is not worried about that prospect, because he knows he can enter more tournaments to gain ranking points.

Snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan is a big fan of Brecel and isn’t concerned by his absences. Speaking earlier in the year, he said: "I believe someone like him is so talented that he doesn’t need to play brilliantly to win.”