Exhausted Ronnie O'Sullivan has opened up on his "nightmare" decision to pull out the Masters.

The eight-time champion was chasing a ninth crown and was due to start the event with a showstopping clash against John Higgins. But the 49-year-old withdrew from the Triple Crown event last week and was replaced by Neil Robertson - who battled back from 5-1 down to knock out the Wizard of Wishaw with a sensational display.

O'Sullivan decided to step away on medical grounds after his frustrations boiled over at the Championship League - lashing out at the table with his cue after missing a simple pot during a 3-2 defeat to Robert Milkins. And the Rocket - who spent three weeks on an exhibition roadshow in China over the festive period - admitted a mixture of fatigue and pressure took its toll.

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He told Eurosport: "Yeah, it was a nightmare decision to make. You know, if you'd have asked me Sunday was I ready to play, I probably would have been OK to play, but it's such a massive tournament. I've obviously been on this three-week trip away playing and I just think I exhausted myself. [There was] a lot of pressure while I was away and I just think the build-up of all that kind of just got a bit too much really."

The world No3 has struggled for form recently, winning just four of 13 matches since reaching the quarter-finals of the Saudi Arabia Masters back in September. He said: "I mean, I lost the plot on Thursday, snapped my cue, so that's unplayable. I knew that at that moment in time, the right decision was to not play. And it’s such a big tournament, I thought whoever was going to come in should have at least had a couple of days’ notice.

"It [the cue] was in the bin, one of them wheelie bins, and then my mate said, ‘look, you can't leave that there’, so he got it out and brought it with us. But I've got a couple of other cues that I’ve got to start practicing with, because obviously some tournaments coming up, so going to continue to play. So I need to get used to the cue now."

However, O'Sullivan insists he'll be back on the baize, adding: "This is an unbelievable tournament. Top 16 best players in the world, amazing crowd. You know, I’ve won this tournament many times, [been in] like 14 finals. I'd love to come here and play again and hopefully be lucky enough to win the trophy again. That'd be great."