Ronnie O'Sullivan may not return to action until the International Championship in November, where he is scheduled to face women's world No 1 Mink Nutcharut.
The seven-time world champion has not played since losing to He Guoqiang in the first round of the English Open on September 17.
He was expected to make a return at the British Open, but subsequently withdrew from the competition just hours before he was scheduled to play.
Another withdrawal followed at the Wuhan Open, where O'Sullivan pulled out due to 'medical reasons'.
Ronnie O'Sullivan has not played since last month
PAHis next scheduled tournament on the calendar is the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast later this month.
The draw has already taken place with O'Sullivan scheduled to face China's Long Zehuang.
But Eurosport claim that O'Sullivan is 'likely to sit out' the competition as he prepares for his return in November.
That would mean his next match back could come against women's snooker sensation Nutcharut at the International Championships in China.
O'Sullivan has never faced the current women's world No 1 in a competitive match before.
Nutcharut is reported to be the only woman to have made a maximum break, which she achieved back in 2019.
The 24-year-old secured her first-ever win on the World Snooker Tour earlier this summer when she defeated Kusai Hamed in the first round of the Saudi Arabia Masters.
The International Championship will likely be the first of a run of events for O'Sullivan, including the UK Championship where he'll be aiming to defend his title.
Speaking recently, the 48-year-old revealed that he might only have three years left before retiring.
Mink Nutcharut won her first World Snooker Tour match in Saudi Arabia this summer
GETTY
"I think I’ve got maybe, if I want it, three really good years," he said.
"That depends on if I’m fully devoted to it and I’m kind of like ‘snooker is all I’m going to do for the next three years’. Which I can do.
"But it’s really hard to do when I’m sort of like: ‘I want to do a few days with Jimmy White as a pundit, I want to go and do a few exhibitions, I want to do a few shows,’ because they’re fun.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan may not play until the International Championship
PA"I can still perform, I can still be a top eight player doing that but to fully give yourself the best opportunities it’s about being totally on it, you know. It’s whether I’m prepared to do that.
"I think I will this year, I think I’ve decided. Last year, the World Championships wasn’t a good tournament for me.
"I was really gutted at how I played. Wasn’t disappointed I lost, you know, you lose. But the way I played, I wasn’t happy with that.
"I want to try and put that right and come back a different player next year."