World Snooker Championship star almost passed out behind wheel of car while driving wife

Ben Woollaston

The scary incident has been blamed on the Covid vaccine

Ben Woollaston almost passed out at the wheel of his car two weeks before returning to the Crucible. Wollaston, 37, has struggled with severe fatigue since his Covid vaccine in 2021 and spent long spells bedridden in the first few months.

And he cannot even kick a football with his two sons without being wiped out afterwards. The qualifier would never have dreamed of returning to the game's biggest stage when his condition was at its unbearable worst. But he will face close pal and four-time world champion Mark Selby in an all-Leicester first-round clash today.

And he revealed: "One doctor said it was chronic fatigue, but I've never got to the bottom of it. I’ve been a lot better with it, but last week and the week before I had a few real bad turns.

"I was driving with [wife] Tatiana and I had to pull over straight away because I was seconds from passing out.

“I felt as bad as I did a couple of years ago. I hadn’t felt like that for quite a while.

“It’s got to be the vaccine. I was perfect before that. I passed out 15 or 20 minutes after it. I couldn’t really stand on my feet for six months.

Ben Woollaston came through qualifying at the World Snooker Championship

“I was the fittest I've been before the vaccine. I was two stones lighter. Now I can’t do any exercise. If I play football with the kids for ten minutes I have to lay in bed for an hour.

“I’ve had people contact me in the same position. Some have the same symptoms and some vary. They’re in the same boat with no answers.”

It feels like a second debut for the world No.44, who made his only other appearance at the venue 12 years ago.

And he added: "I’m just really looking forward to it. I was a completely different person before.

"My oldest son was only a few months old when I made my debut, now he's a big boy.

"You'd like to say you'll play better the second time, but it doesn't feel like the second time because it was so long ago.

"I don’t think there will be any pressure on me. I’ll only have pressure to play well because I’ll be disappointed if I don’t play well."