STEPHEN HENDRY is not ruling out Ronnie O’Sullivan winning a remarkable eighth World Snooker Championship.
The Rocket, 49. has not been in competitive action since dramatically dropping out of the Championship League in January.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been tipped to win his eighth world title at the Crucible[/caption]
O’Sullivan snapped his cue and withdrew from his final match at the tournament in Leicester.
He has subsequently missed the Masters, Welsh Open, German Masters, and the World Grand Prix on medical grounds.
But Hendry – himself a seven-time world champ – believes O’Sullivan has the talent to rock up the Crucible and make a serious challenge should he decide to play.
Hendry told the Snooker Club Podcast: “I fancy Mark Selby to win it.
“[But] one of my hot takes was going to be that Ronnie is going to turn up and win it.
“If we just stop to think, what a story it would be.
“All these players – [Kyren] Wilson and [Judd] Trump winning all these tournaments, [Neil] Robertson back, Selby, Higgins back.
“Ronnie just decides that he’s just going to turn up to the Worlds and win it. It would be an unbelievable story.
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“He’s that good. I remember when he did it before, when he had the year out, he messaged me and said, ‘Do you think I can still come back and do it?’
“I said, ‘Of course you can. All you need is a month’s solid practice.’ It’s the same this time.
“I don’t know what his cue situation is, because obviously he smashed his last one.
“But if he had like a month behind closed doors practicing and putting the work in, getting himself sharp.
“Of course he would be one of the top two or three favourites to win it. It would be incredible.”
Hendry is not alone in fancying The Rocket to return with a flourish this summer.
1985 world champ Dennis Taylor named O’Sullivan as his favourite to lift the Crucible title – if he decides to take part.
The Northern Irishman, 76, told Betway: “It would be a hell of a thing to do but the talent he has, you can’t put it past him.
“The only thing is he won’t be match fit. He proved it the last time when he came back and won it so you can’t count it out.
“It’s difficult to pick but if Ronnie plays, I’m still going to have him as favourite.”
