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Kyren Wilson has openly discussed his wife's health struggles that led the former snooker world champion to take a break from the sport . Despite winning the World Championship at the Crucible last year , snooker hasn't been Wilson's main focus in recent months. Wilson is gearing up to compete at the International Championship in Nanjing, China, where he will face David Lilley in the opening round on Monday morning (1:30am UK time). The current world No. 2 has had a tough year on the snooker table and away from the sport. The 33-year-old suffered early losses at the Wuhan Open, British Open and English Open. He did manage a better performance at the Northern Ireland Open, making it to the quarter-finals. However, Wilson revealed last month how concerns over his wife Sophie's health had been his top priority . He shared the challenges his family had been dealing with after his win over Harris Tahir at the Xi'an Grand Prix in October. "My wife has been very poorly so I've not really played snooker for the best part of four or five weeks now," Wilson said to the World Snooker Tour. "I think she's coming up to about six weeks of recovery tomorrow, so I feel like my snooker is slowly coming back. "I've started to put a bit more time in, I can focus a bit more on my game. As a result, hopefully you start seeing the results that you've been used to. "It was a last-minute decision to come out to China. It kind of did my head in a little bit - it's not nice knowing that someone is going to be on the operating table while you're going to hit some snooker balls around. "But that's the sort of sacrifice that me and my family are willing to make to be successful at this game. Sometimes you've just got to make sure that your head is clear and thankfully now I feel like I'm getting there." Thankfully, Wilson shared that Sophie had received some positive news before he took part in the Northern Ireland Open. "We're about seven weeks in, my wife has had some surgery recently and we've been waiting on some results which thankfully have come back all good this week," Wilson told BBC Sport . "It's been quite tough to be honest, there's been a lot of strain on the family. My wife has had a tough time of it but we've had some fantastic news which is certainly going to free up the mind for not just me, but all of us." This isn't the first time that Wilson's family have faced health struggles. Sophie, who is mum to their two children, previously suffered a stroke . However, the cause of her recent operations is unknown. "There have been lots of things going on with the family. So snooker has had to take a little bit of a backseat this year," Wilson told The Sun in April 2024. "Not necessarily something I'd have like to have done or chosen to do. "My wife's had to surrender her licence because of her epilepsy . That was brought on by Bailey (their son) being really ill last year. Off the back of that, it has triggered her epilepsy again. She had a silent stroke." Wilson's choice to participate in the International Championship suggests his wife has successfully recovered from her recent operation. The former world champion will now be setting his sights on a return to victory in China. The snooker star last clinched a title at the Shanghai Masters in August and also celebrated victories at the Players Championship and German Masters earlier this year. Wilson will be aiming to better his quarter-final exit at last year's International Championship.
