Sam Craigie feared he may never return to snooker after recovery from neck surgery did not go as planned, but now feels his game is better than ever.
The 31-year-old was enjoying increasingly encouraging results on the table, with a UK Championship quarter-final in 2022 and a German Masters semi in ’24.
However, a problem in his neck was getting worse and the issue eventually became so bad Craigie was forced into surgery, but only after some impressive results despite the pain.
‘I think I’ve had it for a long time,’ Craigie told Metro of the neck injury. ‘For a good few years I had stiffness in exactly the same place. But it was only my last season where I just thought it was unbearable.
‘The German Masters run was absolutely bonkers. I told the officials before every match that I might have to withdraw because the pain was so bad, but every match I just flew. It didn’t make any sense.
‘My last match at the [2024] World Championship was similar, I played really well. I had tonsilitis as well, you couldn’t write it.
‘I played well considering I woke up and sat in the bath with the hot shower on because I was freezing and sweating. I was just trying to warm up before that match.
‘I think I had eight 50-pluses and lost 10-8 to Jiang Jun. He’s a good player by the way.’
As that season ended Craigie moved to solve the ongoing problem, although he didn’t know what the issue was for some time.
‘I was seeing GPs to start with and they all were telling us different things,’ he said. ‘One of them told us I had a tear in my shoulder. One of them thought it was the muscles in my back.
‘Finally they said I need to see a specialist and they said there’s nothing wrong with my shoulder. I wasted like six months not knowing what was going on.’
Anterior cervical disc replacement surgery was the answer, but the hope was that he would be back playing in a matter of weeks, which was not the case.
‘The surgery was a no-brainer for me because the pain was unbearable, but he obviously expected the recovery to go a lot smoother than it has been,’ Craigie explained.
‘The Championship League was a week or two after the surgery and I tried my best to play but I could only get my chin a foot or two off my cue.’
Asked if he thought his career could be over at this stage he said: ‘Aye, definitely.
‘Only in January I could really play again. I tried to play before that, but I couldn’t do it. After half an hour I was just in pain. Then in January it got a bit better. I could manage a couple of hours.’
The pain has not gone away entirely, but he is in a vastly better situation to a year ago. From January, with the game available to him again, Craigie hit the practice table hard to try and get back to where he was.
‘I started doing 8-10 hour days, maybe 12 hours, because obviously I’m playing catch up,’ he said. ‘Obviously it causes pain, but I had to do it.’
The hard work is paying off as, despite feeling like he had hit a peak before the surgery, Craigie is even more confident in his game now.
‘I had a few really good results the last year I played,’ he said. ‘Good performances, where I started to think that I’m actually quite good, you know, because I never always believed that.
‘Now, in practise, I’ve said to my dad and my brother that I actually feel better than I was. In practise I play a frame against myself and just clear up, just keep clearing up. You can’t really lose can you? You can’t really do much more than that.’
The Newcastle cueist reached a career high of number 33 in the world in 2023, but after years of being touted as a player who could go further, he now finally believes in himself that he will do just that.
‘A million percent, absolutely a million percent,’ he said of his ability to do more than he has done in the game to date.
‘A good few years ago I didn’t believe what everyone used to see. I’ve heard it since I was 13 years old, that I’m going to be this and I’m going to be that.
‘Then it took us a long time to get up the rankings.When I did, my neck got cut open. It was unfortunate timing.
‘I know one thing for certain, I’m practising more than everyone else. That is a fact. If I heard somebody who was doing more than us then I would have to up it, because they aren’t playing catch-up.’
Craigie actually lost his place on the professional tour as he could not play for a year, but was granted a new tour card due to it being injury keeping him out of the game.
One unexpected bonus of his absence was how much he started watching the sport, which has helped him in his new, extremely long practice schedule.
‘The best thing about it actually was that I’ve started watching snooker,’ he said. ‘My practise routine is completely different to what it’s ever been.Some of the routines and shots that I’m doing I’ve never done before in my life.
‘I’m watching some of the best players, watching games between them, picking out shots that most people struggle with and practising them relentlessly.
‘I hate it, I absolutely despise it, but I’ve got it all written down in my phone what I’m doing every single day and there’s no ifs, buts or maybes, I just do it until it’s done. Sometimes it takes longer than other days, but I still get it finished.
‘I’m actually learning, which I haven’t really put much thought into in the past.’
Craigie has begun his long road to climb back up the world rankings and continues it on Friday in British Open qualifying against Yao Pengcheng.
