INJURY-HIT Hossein Vafaei refuses to take painkillers for his excruciating shoulder problem as he heads to the Crucible in agonising pain.
Iran’s greatest ever potter, 30 on Wednesday night as he overcame Hong Kong’s Wang Yuchen 10-4 in the final round of qualifying.
It is his fourth consecutive appearance in the event but it is remarkable he is able to compete in the first instance given that one doctor looked at his neck scan and was “shocked how I’m playing”;.
It all relates back to before the Championship League Invitational final group in Leicester in February.
, who plays in round one on the opening day, said: “I went to the gym. I was angry and I went heavy.
“I went to do my shoulders, did it heavy to get all the negative out, and after two or three days I felt it in my neck.
“Then my shoulder. Then it made my left arm completely numb.
“The doctor told me I need to rest, that I shouldn’t play snooker. I started playing again and then hurt my disc.
“One of my discs is turning around right now as well. After coming here, I’ll probably have to go to the surgery in Iran. I’m in lots of pain right now.
“I don’t like painkillers. They are not good for your body, they are food for cancer.
“If I don’t compete then people will say lots of bad things.
“I have to finish my tournaments and after that, I’ll go to the Iran Olympic Committee. They have a doctor waiting for me for a long time now. They’ll decide what I have to do.
“Yes, it disrupts my sleep. At night I can’t sleep sometimes till 4am. Going this way and that way. Sleep on my belly. What can I do?
“I don’t expect anything from myself, I try my best for my fans, for my country, for all the Middle East and see what is coming.”;
Vafaei, who for a while was a famous nemesis of nemesis, also became Public Enemy No.1 in Sheffield last year.
He slammed the conditions of , which is contracted to host world snooker until 2027.
He alleged the place STANK, it desperately needs a lick of paint and the practice rooms look like garages.
Yet Vafaei has done a U-Turn and become an unofficial ambassador for the Steel City, having now moved to the S postcode area.
The Prince of Persia said: “I just had a laugh with (MC) Rob Walker there. I said: ‘Make sure the air freshener is ready!’
“I’ve moved to Sheffield now. The reason I was saying it, I was thinking of moving to Sheffield.
“I don’t want anyone to come to Sheffield and talk bad about my city.
“Whoever wants to talk, I’m happy to talk. I’m not going to get involved in those kinds of things.
“I’m happy to be a sportsperson. I had a lot of opportunities to get involved in politics, but I’m a sportsperson.
“Sheffield is a snooker city. They love snooker. Lots of snooker academies here, lots of good international restaurants.
“Whenever you want to play someone there’s always someone for you to play and not easy opponents, they always give you a good game. Sheffield is a good city.”;
