Ronnie O’Sullivan is yet to announce whether he will be at the Crucible (Picture: Getty Images) Jimmy White is sure Ronnie O’Sullivan will be at the World Snooker Championship this year, despite doubts over the Rocket’s attendance. The seven-time world champion has said that he is yet to decide whether he will play at the Crucible or not, after pulling out of a string of events this year. The 49-year-old has not played since a brief appearance at the Championship League in January, withdrawing from tournaments including the Masters and World Grand Prix. He remains number five in the world so has qualified to play at the Crucible, but has said that he will probably only make a decision a day or two before the event starts on April 19. His old friend White is confident he will play, though, and believes he will definitely have been practicing while he has been away from competition. ‘He’ll be there for sure,’ White told Metro. ‘It’s in his bones.’ O’Sullivan took the 2012/13 season off entirely before coming back to win the World Championship at the climax of the campaign, so he has form, but White feels it will be more difficult for him this time around. O’Sullivan has played very little in 2025 so far (Picture: Getty Images) ‘One year he didn’t play all together and came back and won it,’ said the Whirlwind. ‘It’s going to be a bit more difficult for him in the first round because he’s had no match practice and the players have improved. ‘But I still think he’ll be fine. One thing is for sure with O’Sullivan he does practice, whatever is going on in his life, he does practice.’ O’Sullivan has been consistent in saying that he does intend to play again and that he is not retiring, but the question of when he will return to the table has not been answered. Speaking to TNT Sports, he played down how much snooker he has missed this season, reminding us that he has played in eight tournaments since the start of the campaign. ‘I don’t have any expectations of what I might do or might not do when I come back,’ he said. ‘It’s just one of them. Once you start, you just build momentum, and sometimes you have to be patient with it. ‘At some point it’s just getting back in there, I suppose, that’s the most important thing. O’Sullivan has not missed a World Championship since his debut in 1993 (Picture: Getty Images) ‘I’ve still played eight tournaments this year. I’ve just taken large chunks of time out for various reasons. I feel alright, I feel okay.’ The Rocket has spoken in the past about suffering from stage fright at times and White feels that is the problem again, but he is still good enough to lift the trophy despite his issues. ‘For me O’Sullivan has got a little bit of stage fright,’ said the 62-year-old. ‘What I had and hope to get back, what O’Sullivan has and Alex Higgins had, is having the crowd on your side because they go on the roller-coaster of how you play. ‘O’Sullivan being the best we’ve ever seen, the crowd go on the roller-coaster with him. ‘I think he can still win the World Championship, but for me I think he’s got a little bit of stage fright.’ Jimmy White is at World Championship qualifying himself this week (Picture: Getty Images) O’Sullivan has also had to get used to a new cue after smashing his old one up at the Championship League, such had his frustrations with his game come to the boil. The Rocket has been clear on what we can expect from him, and that is not to announce his decision on the Crucible until next week, right before the event. ‘I haven’t made my mind up, I’ll probably make a decision on maybe the 17th or 18th of April,’ he said, via TNT Sports. ‘I don’t know when I’m due to play my first match, so I’m going to try and leave myself as much time as possible. ‘I’d love to be able to go there and play, I’d love to be able to have the confidence to be able to get my cue out and go and play snooker. ‘I just need to give myself as much time as possible to see where I’m at with it, and see whether it’s something I’m going to be able to do.’