Snooker star Shaun Murphy has revealed he has had a gastric sleeve surgery to kickstart his faltering career.
Speaking exclusively to The Sportsman, the former world, UK and Masters champion Murphy admitted the heartache of being “fat-shamed” on social media contributed to his decision.
And added to the breakdown of his marriage last year and prolonged neck and back problems, Murphy - who celebrated his 40th birthday last week - is desperate to get his life back, on and off the table.
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“I’ve had a lot of things going on in my life which contributed to the worst season of my career last season,” admitted Murphy.
“It’s been incredibly tough and one thing I’ve always struggled with is my weight.
“It was a very big decision to go under the knife, but after a lot of thought and consideration I accepted that I was unable to sort my weight problem out.
“I had the surgery in May and so far since having the operation I’ve lost about four stone.
“My weight has always fluctuated, but ultimately it comes down to discipline and I needed to do something about it to give me the best possible chance of being successful in the final third of my career.
“This last year has been one of the toughest, if not the toughest, of my life.
“Me and my wife Elaine separated, which has been really hard because we have two children together.
“I started eating a lot more. Like alcohol it’s an addiction, but not one which is spoken about as much.
“Me and Elaine are tentatively trying for a reconciliation, but the breakdown of our marriage and my weight and injury problems obviously made playing snooker really tough. It was secondary to everything else that was going on.
“But I decided to do something about it because I’m sick of being fat-shamed on social media and not feeling good about myself.
“At this year’s World Championship I didn’t fit into my suit properly and didn’t feel good.
“I’m by no means the finished article yet, but I’m heading in the right direction. This is a new start for me at 40, I just want to enjoy my snooker and feel good about myself.”
A sleeve gastrectomy is where a large part of the stomach is removed, meaning you cannot subsequently eat as much and become fuller quicker.
“The surgery is irreverisble, so it really was a huge decision for me,” admitted Murphy, winner of nine ranking titles during his impressive career.
“I get that as a high-profile sportsman you expect to get some stick on social media and face criticism, but some of the personal attacks are really cruel.
“I’ve had 80 per cent of my stomach removed so now I can eat very little. It’s pretty much impossible for me to ever put weight back on again.
“I used to go to WeightWatchers and really enjoyed it and I’ve lost weight throughout my career, it’s yo-yoed when I’ve dieted and got into exercise.
“But I was listening to Steve Davis in the commentary box at this year’s World Championship and something struck a chord with me.
“He wasn’t aiming his comment at me, but he said there was no secret the fitter players, those that had looked after themselves, were dominating the game.
“I mean you only to have to look at someone like Ronnie O’Sullivan. He’s the snooker player who has looked after himself the most and he’s just won a seventh world title at 46. He’s getting better with age.
“And a lot of the other tournament winners like Neil Robertson and Judd Trump are fit.
“John Higgins has lost a lot of weight from spinning and I know a lot of professionals who have bought Peleton bikes so they can spin at home to stay fit.”
Murphy shot to fame in 2005 when, as an 150/1 outsider, he famously won the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. In 2008 he won the second of snooker’s ‘majors’ when he won the UK Championship – and followed up the sweep of Triple Crown events by winning the Masters – snooker’s most prestigious invitational event in 2015.
And the Dublin-based potter has also won most of snooker’s premier events, including the Players Tour Championship (2011), World Open (2014) and Champion of Champions (2017).
But the world No 10’s last ranking win was the Welsh Open crown prior to the Covid-19 lockdown. And following his surgery, Murphy has pressed the reset button in a concerted push to challenge for silverware again.
“I’ve had a number of good seasons and pretty much won something every season, but last season was pretty poor,” reflected Murphy.
“No one can ever take away what I’ve won, but I still really want to win more tournaments.
“I’ve been in four world finals and, although I’ve only won the world title once, I’d love to win it again.
“I know there’s nothing the other lads can do that I can’t, but my health has let me down, especially last season, and I want to do a lot better this season and enjoy my snooker.
“I’ve still got little goals, like getting to world No 1, which is something I’ve never achieved in my career. That would be nice.
“But I’ve grown up in a generation of the Class of 92 – O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams – and lost to great players like Mark Selby and Robertson in big finals.
“The standard is so high, but I’m by no means retiring, there’s life in me yet!”
