Hossein Vafaei suffering with nightmare injury at World Grand Prix: 'I am in so much pain'
03/06/2025 11:31 AM
Hossein Vafaei is into the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix despite an ongoing spinal injury causing him serious pain in his neck and shoulder.
The Iranian was not expecting to play in Hong Kong but got a spot in the 32-man draw after Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew due to medical reasons.
Vafaei could well have done the same, but has battled through the pain and has impressively fought to victories over Si Jiahui and Xu Si.
It was a scrap for Vafaei, who is understandably not at his fluent best, as his high break of 56 was his only half-century to Xu’s five.
The wins would have been good victories for the Prince of Persia in any circumstances, but especially so given he says he cannot feel his left arm while playing shots.
‘I am playing with one hand, I am in so much pain with my neck and shoulder,’ Vafaei told WST after beating Xu 4-3 on Thursday. ‘But I am always fighting for my fans and I’m delighted for them to win today.
‘If I pull out, what would I do, sit and watch the others? So I want to try. When I sit in my chair, my hand is shaking, my left arm is completely numb. I don’t have any feeling on the shot.’
The issue has been rumbling on for a while as he was clearly struggling with it while playing at the Championship League a month ago and it has still not been remedied.
‘Last week I was in Chengdu and I went to hospital there but I didn’t have time for an MRI scan. I had a CT scan,’ the 30-year-old explained. ‘I know I need physiotherapy and exercise.
‘After this event I will go to Iran, see the Olympic doctor there and he will help me. In the meantime I have had acupuncture with small electric shocks to the nerve and hopefully that will help after a few days.’
Despite the pain, Vafaei is making the most of his opportunity in Hong Kong, although he faces a huge test on Friday against world number one Judd Trump in the last eight.
‘I was very happy to have a place although I hope Ronnie is happy and healthy,’ he said. ‘I love playing in Hong Kong and China, this is the place I want to be. They treat us really well.
‘Judd is a good friend, a great champion and ambassador. It’s nice to see he has achieved his dream, he is one of my heroes. Hopefully we can put on a good show for the fans.’
Trump progressed to the quarter-finals due to Jack Lisowski withdrawing before their last 16 meeting due to personal reasons.
The world number one beat Gary Wilson in round one and has had a day off before his game with Vafaei on Friday in the last eight.
The rest of the quarter-final line-up sees John Higgins face Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby play Stuart Bingham and Neil Robertson face either Xiao Guodong or Lei Peifan.
