Bad Breaks: Famous snooker player injuries

Steve Davis

Six-time world champion Steve Davis was dazed following an incident after an autographing session at the 2005 China Open in Beijing.

Having whitewashed Michael Holt, 5-0, in round one, 47-year-old Davis was back at the Haidian Stadium preparing for his imminent last 16 tie with Ricky Walden when a group of fans approached him for his signature at the back entrance of the venue.

After his signing conference, though, Davis knocked his head on a thick steel door trying to get into the venue. The number 13 seed felt light-headed as he began his encounter with Walden, and having gone 3-0 down, referee Eirian Williams helped him backstage to the tournament office where he took a painkiller.

However, on resumption, Davis felt worse, and early on in frame four he conceded the match. He subsequently saw a doctor at the venue before going to hospital for an x-ray.

Snooker journalist and commentator Dave Hendon also hit his head on the same door.

Xiao Guodong

Xiao Guodong’s run at the 2012 PTC Grand Finals in Galway was memorable for more than one reason.

A few weeks earlier, the Chinese cueist broke a bone in his hand having reportedly slept awkward on it. Doctors advised Xiao to take three months off in order to recuperate, but with upcoming events, prize money and the rankings at stake, he went against the suggestion and turned up in the Republic of Ireland with a cast on his lower arm.

Somewhat incredibly, though, Xiao defeated Dominic Dale 4-2 in the opening round before stunning number one seed Judd Trump, 4-2, in the last 16 to reach his first world ranking event quarter-final where his run was ended by Andrew Higginson, 4-1.

Quinten Hann

Charismatic, colourful but often controversial, Quinten Hann began to notch up quite an injuries list during his time on the professional snooker circuit.

The talented Australian was the youngest player to make a televised century break when at only 13-years-old he compiled exactly 100 at the 1991 World Junior Masters.

A few years later he entered the sport’s top tier and unsurprisingly began to rise the ranks, but his progress was halted during the 1999/2000 season when he broke his collarbone and wrist following a motorcycle accident in Melbourne. The accident caused him to miss several tournaments.

Having not long since recovered from that injury, in late 2000, Hann broke bones in his foot after a parachute jump and played without shoes during the UK Championship of that same year.

However, the injury didn’t appear to affect his performance in Bournemouth, as he reached the quarter-finals where he lost 9-5 to Ronnie O’Sullivan. In the round before, during the opening frame of his 9-0 victory over Gerard Greene, Hann made a 141 total clearance in front of the television cameras - an effort that stood as the event’s highest break.

In 2005, Hann pulled out of the Malta Cup - O’Sullivan received the walkover - due to a broken finger.

The former world under-21 snooker champion resigned his professional status in 2006 amidst allegations he was prepared to match-fix. Hann was later found guilty of this and banned from the sport for eight years.

Dave Harold

A broken wrist on New Year’s Eve in 2003 set back ranking event winner Dave Harold.

The world number 23 was forced to spend time on the sidelines as he withdrew from both the Welsh Open and Irish Masters ranking events.

On his return to the baize, Harold lost his opening matches at both the Players Championship and World Championship, and his one and only ranking match victory throughout the whole of 2004 came in the last 64 of the British Open in November.

At the end of the 2004/05 campaign, Harold slipped down to 45th the world, although a few years later he enjoyed a career resurgence and very nearly returned to the top 16.

Anthony Hamilton

Anthony Hamilton was dealt some rotten luck off the table which resulted in an ultimately miserable 2000/01 term.

The world number 11 had firmly established himself as one of professional snooker’s elite cueists, but during the off-season in 2000 he sustained a serious injury when he broke his right wrist after trying to save his friend from being mugged.

The incident meant Hamilton had to withdraw from events while he recovered and it wasn’t until March of that season when he registered his first match win of the campaign.

Not long after his wrist injury, Hamilton had an infected finger as a result of a mosquito bite, and turned up to star in an episode of Big Break with his arm in a sling.

Hamilton lost his top 16 spot at the end of the campaign, although he did return to that bracket a few years later.

Talking to BBC Sport about his injury-ravished season, Hamilton said: "I think I can safely say I am the unluckiest man in snooker after the season I've had. I don't know whether I upset the snooker gods - but hopefully I've got rid of my quota of bad luck and I can enjoy an injury free season next year."

Stephen Hendry

Possibly the most famous snooker injury of all, Stephen Hendry’s world championship reign was under serious doubt during his 1994 Crucible campaign.

Going for his third successive world crown and fourth overall, Hendry coasted through his opening round assignment with a 10-1 victory over qualifier Surinder Gill. However, a couple of days before his last 16 tie, Hendry slipped in his hotel bathroom and put his left arm out to break his fall.

Despite being in pain, Hendry went to bed and slept well, but woke up with issues on the affected bridge arm.

The then 25-year-old went to a hospital where x-rays discovered a fracture near the elbow. No cast was applied although medical staff drained fluid from the elbow so Hendry could straighten the arm and issued him a sling to wear when not playing snooker.

On prescribed and sport-legal antibiotics but still in discomfort when getting down on his shot, Hendry crushed Dave Harold 13-2 in round two before defeating Nigel Bond and Steve Davis, and then famously ousting Jimmy White 18-17 in the final for his fourth world championship title.

Graeme Dott

Graeme Dott endured a wretched time off the table not long after his greatest day when he won the world snooker championship title in 2006.

Following the death of his father-in-law who was also a close friend and his manager, and his wife’s cancer scare and miscarriage, Dott suffered from and was diagnosed with depression.

And as Dott was beginning to rebuild his snooker career after a plethora of defeats, he was set back again at the 2008 Shanghai Masters.

Outside his hotel, Dott was having a kickabout with fellow players when he put his hand out to save a powerful shot and ended up breaking his wrist.

Having seen and been advised by doctors in China after the incident, Dott received an operation when he returned home and his left wrist - his bridge hand - was placed in a cast.

As well as the Shanghai withdrawal, Dott missed the Grand Prix on home soil in Scotland. He fell out of the world’s top 16 at the end of the 2008/09 term, but in the following season, a run to his third world championship final helped him move back up into the world’s elite band of players.

Stephen Maguire

Similar to Scottish compatriot Dott, Stephen Maguire also had a wasted journey to Shanghai a year later in 2009.

The world number two at the time, Maguire had previously slipped in his shower at home in Scotland and hurt his shoulder, although he still travelled to the Far East for the first ranking event of the season.

Maguire had issues with the injury, though, and it was diagnosed that he had internal bleeding in the muscle. He received treatment - including acupuncture - from the doctor of the Chinese football team, but the shoulder was too sore to play with and he withdrew from the tournament.

He did return for the Grand Prix in his home city of Glasgow the next month, though.

Only a few weeks before Maguire’s slip, Mark Williams had one of his own when he lost grip on a tile at his home. This resulted in a broken right wrist but - after his participation being a doubt - he managed to play in the aforementioned Shanghai Masters.

In 2006, Williams had to pull out during the Grand Prix as he was in too much discomfort with a wrist he had injured in the gym before the tournament. Williams also carried a muscle injury from weight training into the 2014 UK Championship.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

Speaking of the 2014 UK Championship, shortly before the prestigious competition that year, Ronnie O’Sullivan posted a photo on social media of a broken left ankle he sustained following a fall whilst out running in an Essex forest.

Very active off the baize, O’Sullivan is no stranger to bumps and bruises, but the severity of this particular injury likely spelt bad news in his bid for a fifth UK crown.

O’Sullivan turned up for the event, though, at the Barbican in York, and in a first round win over Daniel Wells he wore a protective boot and regularly rested his leg on a stool.

However, after his 6-2 victory, O’Sullivan suggested he could pull out of the event saying: “To be honest, I didn’t enjoy any of that. It was painful for me to play with. It is broken, so I am f****d, basically.

“I was hobbling around and it was swelling up and very painful. I did all I could do and took painkillers but if it is not better by Sunday then I probably won’t play.”

Typical for O’Sullivan, though, he went on to write another remarkable, eventful success story as he defeated Peter Lines, Ben Woollaston, Matt Selt, Anthony McGill, Stuart Bingham (6-5) and then Judd Trump in a deciding frame of a thrilling final after Trump had come back from 9-4 down.

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, O’Sullivan compiled his 13th professional career maximum 147 break during his whitewash win against Selt in the last 16

John Higgins

During his home event at the 2018 Scottish Open in Glasgow, John Higgins played through the pain barrier.

A day after losing 6-5 to Alan McManus in the last 64 of the UK Championship, Higgins picked up a broken rib when he watched his beloved Celtic defeat Aberdeen 1-0 in the Scottish League Cup football final.

Just over a week later, Higgins played his opening match at the ranked Scottish Open, and despite physio a few hours prior to his tie, he was pain during a narrow 4-3 victory over Adam Duffy.

Speaking afterwards, Higgins - who paraded the world snooker championship trophy at Celtic Park in 1998 - later explained “It’s a football injury. It was the League Cup final up here last weekend and I’d had a few drinks...” The four-time world champion said he had ‘no chance’ winning the event and that the only reason he didn’t withdraw was because his friends and family were coming to see him in action on home soil and it was the only chance they get.

However, after playing down his prospects, Higgins wowed spectators in his next match as he scored a maximum 147 break during a 4-0 win over Gerard Greene - the ninth of his illustrious professional career.

Higgins eventually bowed out in the last 16 to Alfie Burden, 4-2.

Alex Higgins

The final professional title triumph of Alex Higgins’ fabled snooker career arrived in 1989, and it came not long after breaking his ankle.

The Northern Irishman fell out of a window at a Manchester apartment following a reported domestic row and was taken to hospital for treatment. A few weeks later, a hobbling Higgins won his opening match at the British Open before losing to Steve Davis in the last 32.

Towards the end of the following month, Higgins was back in action at the invitational Irish Masters at Goffs. Over the worst of the injury, but still likely feeling some of its effects, the two-time world champion dismissed Cliff Thorburn, Neil Foulds and John Parrott to reach the final where he faced a 20-year-old Stephen Hendry.

In a memorable title match, Higgins was roared on by his passionate home support as he recovered from 5-1 down to eventually defeat Hendry 9-8 in a deciding frame.

The victory is often referred to as ‘The Hurricane’s Last Hurrah’.