Ronnie O'Sullivan has delivered a blunt assessment of his chances at this year's World Snooker Championship, admitting his preparation has been "not great".
The seven-time world champion has been largely absent from competitive play since January due to medical reasons.
His last competitive appearance came in the Championship League earlier this year.
Despite his legendary status in the sport, O'Sullivan appears far from confident about adding an eighth world title to his collection.
Ronnie O'Sullivan has admitted he is not in great form going into his grudge match against Ali Carter
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"The cue is fine, it's just me," O'Sullivan said when asked about his pre-tournament preparation.
The 49-year-old confirmed he will participate in the tournament despite his concerns.
O'Sullivan's absence has seen him drop to 31st in the one-year ranking list.
This ranking meant he missed out on competing at both The Players and Tour Championships.
There had been speculation about whether he would skip the World Championship entirely.
When asked if he missed snooker during his time away, O'Sullivan gave a characteristically candid response.
"Yes and no. It's a strange one but it was good to have some time out," he said.
Despite bookmakers favouring Judd Trump and Mark Selby for the title, many fans will not write off O'Sullivan's chances.
However, the man himself appears to be in a less than positive frame of mind heading into the tournament.
O'Sullivan faces a potentially explosive first-round encounter with Ali Carter on Tuesday.
The draw has set up a reunion between two players with significant history.
Carter has twice lost World Championship finals to O'Sullivan.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is gunning for an eighth world title this year
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Their rivalry intensified last year following a heated Masters match.
After that encounter, O'Sullivan described Carter as "not a nice person" and a "nightmare" to play against.
The Crucible atmosphere could quickly become tense when these two competitors face off.
Their match will be closely watched given the personal animosity that has developed between them.
Despite being the more decorated player, O'Sullivan's lack of recent competitive action may level the playing field.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan is not confident going into the first round of the World Championship
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Speaking about his technical struggles, O'Sullivan revealed deeper concerns about his game.
"I tried a new technique six years ago and I think it's completely stopped me from playing how I used to, and I don't know how to get back to somewhere near how I want to play," he admitted.
The snooker legend fears these issues may be permanent.
"I'm not sure it's fixable at this stage of my career, but I will give it a couple of years to try and rediscover a way of playing where I feel like I can hit the ball."
He described his current situation as "pretty scary", saying: "The white ball is doing things I've never seen it do before. I've lost that instinctiveness and what I'm seeing when I'm down on the shot is not good."
