Shaun Murphy has revealed how he fell so close to sensationally withdrawing from the 2015 World Championship final after suffering injury.

Shaun Murphy. Picture by Monique Limbos

The 2005 world champion is currently suffering from injuries to his back and neck which has forced him to miss the Gibraltar Open and this week’s Romanian Masters.

Murphy said the problem is so bad that he doesn’t know for sure when he will return to full fitness and had admitted he is doubtful for next week’s Players Championship.

But, more interestingly, this season’s Champion of Champions winner said the injuries are a recurrence to a similar problem he had three years ago just before his World Championship final clash against Stuart Bingham.

Bingham won the match 18-15 to be crowned champion of the world for the first time as Murphy missed on winning the world title for a second time.

The world number seven told World Snooker: “On the Sunday morning before the final I was lying on the floor of the practice room so my coach Chris Henry could walk on my back to get it right.

“I was unable to hit any balls that morning and thankfully through intense physio work and Chris walking on my back, sticking his elbow in key places, I got myself in a position to be able to play.

“While having breakfast that morning, I was contemplating becoming the first person to pull out of a world final.”

Murphy added:  “It is really bad. It needs to improve quite substantially if I am to make it to Llandudno (the host city for the Players Championship)..

“I have had this for years and normally the way it would go is if I had a warning sign then I would call up the physio and go for an appointment. However, If I am being totally honest I probably haven’t been to the physio as much as I should have recently.

“I am still trying to find out what the root cause of the problem is. It has been allowed to get out of control and create a bit of trouble. I thought I had staved it off. I haven’t and I’ve paid the price.”