One of Mark Allen's closest friends in snooker has issued an update on his situation as his lengthy absence from the table continues. Allen hasn't played a competitive match since the World Championship, citing personal reasons for his recent withdrawals.
He was due to make his return in last month's International Championship qualifying round, but pulled out the week before. Allen is due to face his close friend, Jordan Brown, in the opening round of the Northern Ireland Open later this month.
Brown's update on Allen
Brown has been in contact with his long-time friend and practice partner, saying Allen is 'doing okay' but admitting that he remains worried about him.
Speaking to Metro, Brown said: "I can’t really comment too much on it, but all I do know is he is doing okay. I’ve been checking in on him."
"I honestly don’t know if he’s going to play or not. If he does play it will be great for the local crowd. It’ll be great to see him back playing, we all want to see him back."
Concern from fellow players
"Personally I miss him. I worry about him because he’s one of my best friends. We all hope to see him back soon and playing the game that he loves because he’s a great player and a great guy," Brown added.
"The main thing is he is doing okay. He obviously has things to sort out so we all hope he’ll be back at the table soon."
It comes after Judd Trump admitted that he didn't know why Allen hasn't been playing, but expressed hope that he would be back soon.
"It’s hard to comment because I don’t think many of us know what’s happening," said Trump. "Obviously, I’d imagine he’d like to be playing. But until we know…I don’t know the reason why he’s not (playing)."
"I’m sure it’s serious. I think all of us would like him to be back playing again because obviously he went very close in the World Championship and he’s a great player."
"Whenever someone’s kind of missing, you always want everyone to be at perfect health and stuff like that."
