Neil Robertson has withdrawn from the Northern Ireland Open after picking up a respiratory virus.

The 2010 snooker world champion reached the last 32 of the Xi'an Grand Prix last week, but lost 5-4 to He Guoqiang.

Robertson was due to face David Grace in the first round of the 2025 Northern Ireland Open, which begins in Belfast on Sunday.

However, he will no longer compete in the tournament having posted a worrying health update on social media.

What did Robertson say?

On X, he said: "Hey guys. After coming back from China I picked up a brutal respiratory virus in Xi'an that didn’t hit me until Sunday.

"It made breathing anything above 40 per cent a challenge and bed ridden for almost six days.

"I've never experienced anything like it and can quite honestly say it was one of the wo

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