Snooker star Kyren Wilson sprained his ankle whilst sleeping in bed (Image: Getty)
Snooker star has revealed he managed to play through the pain barrier at the after suffering a bizarre injury in his bedroom.
The 33-year-old hailed his quarter-final win over Luca Brecel as “one of the best” of his career following his 6-4 success over the former world champion on Friday.
It was even more impressive considering he had been playing with an injury after Wilson claimed to have sprained his ankle before he was due to play at Alexandra Palace.
Explaining how he suffered the strange injury, Wilson told Four: “I could make up an extravagant story but literally I fell asleep in bed.
“You know when you’re in a hotel and they tuck the quilt into the mattress? My foot has landed in an awkward position for eight hours. I woke up and I couldn’t move.
“I fell asleep in bed and sprained my ankle – who does that?”
Wearing a pair of black trainers instead of shoes, it didn’t appear to hold Wilson back too much as he took full advantage of Brecel’s missed opportunities at the table.
The reigning world champion made five half-centuries during a close encounter in which Brecel kept the pressure on, with the Belgian never more than two frames behind.
Kyren Wilson wore trainers instead of shoes to help soothe his injured ankle (Image: Getty)
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And in a tense 10th frame which lasted over 40 minutes, he eventually got the job done by potting the pink to advance to the semi-finals.
Wilson is the only player left amongst the four remaining players not to have won the Masters before, with Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen all previously triumphing in the Triple Crown event.
He did finish as a runner-up after losing out to Allen in the 2018 showpiece, and a potential reunion is on the cards if he beats Trump in the last-four clash – with Allen facing Murphy in the other semi.
World No. 1 Trump beat Ding Junhui 6-3 after winning five consecutive frames against the Chinese player, having trailed 3-1 after a slow start.
Kyren Wilson will face Judd Trump (pictured) in the Masters semi-final (Image: Getty)
Trump has been in fine form this year, winning the Shanghai Masters, Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and UK Championship this season, and the 35-year-old believes he is performing better than ever.
“Probably now I’d say I’m somewhere near my peak. I’m a lot better player than I was maybe five or 10 years ago,” Trump told Two. “I just think it’s the consistency, I’m able to have that inner belief over and over again.
“When I go behind 3-1, I still believe I can do what I did and rattle off five or 10 frames in a row without missing a single ball. That’s what you have to do at this level.”
Wilson and Trump’s enticing clash takes place on Saturday, January 18 at the north London venue.