Snooker star Shaun Murphy has revealed he's had gastric sleeve surgery to get his faltering career back on track.
Murphy, who won his sole world title way back in 2005, had admitted to becoming sick of being "fat-shamed" on social media, whilst personal problems also contributed to his decision. He went under the knife in May, and hopes the procedure will help him turn his life around.
Murphy, 40, endured a difficult start to 2022, r eceiving death threats over comments made about amateur players at the UK Championships last November. The likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan also s cathingly criticised the player dubbed 'The Magician'.
And now in an emotional interview, Murphy has explained why he opted to have the operation: "I've had a lot of things going on in my life which contributed to the worst season of my career last season," he told the Daily Mail.
" It's been incredibly tough and one thing I've always struggled with is my weight. It was a big decision to go under the knife, but I accepted that I was unable to sort my weight out. I had surgery in May and so far I've lost about four stone.
"My weight has always fluctuated, but 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."
Murphy hasn't won a ranking tournament since triumphing at the Welsh Open in the 2019/20 season, and was dumped out at the first-round stage of the World Snooker Championships in April. Furthermore, he's had to deal with separating from wife Elaine, who he married in 2016.
He explained that their split prompted him to eat more frequently, whilst he also encountered injury problems. The Harlow-born star conceded that those issues made snooker "secondary" in his list of priorities.
"I decided to do something about it because I'm sick of being fat-shamed on social media and not feeling good about myself," he continued. "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 means an individual having part of their stomach removed, meaning they cannot consume as much food. The procedure is also irreversible, a notion which Murphy admits made his decision a "huge" one.
"I get that as a high-profile sportsman you expect stick on social media, but the personal attacks are really cruel," he added. "I've had 80% 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 Weight Watchers and really enjoyed it and I've lost weight throughout my career — it's yo-yoed when I've dieted and got into exercise."
And despite the world No 1 vociferously criticising him earlier this year, Murphy has cited the fitness levels of O'Sullivan has an inspiration to players like him who are into their 40s. 'The Rocket' is a regular runner and has even produced his own healthy cooking book.
