The 2005 world champion was in the Algarve for the funeral of his former manager Brandon Parker last week.
The World Snooker Tour has cleared up some recent confusion about the circumstances surrounding the visit of Shaun Murphy to Portugal this month.
It had been made apparent that Murphy had flown to the Iberian Peninsula a week ago to mourn the loss of his close friend and former manager, Brandon Parker.
Questions were raised as to how this would impact his position in the upcoming 2020 World Snooker Championship, with potential self-isolation and quarantine rules to follow as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Englishman lives in Ireland, which imposes a 14-day isolation period, so there was speculation about whether or not he’d be able to compete in Sheffield.
But the WST has confirmed that the “Magician” has been in constant contact with them, and that he is following all the guidelines required in order to safely participate in this year’s delayed competition.
A spokesperson for the WST told SnookerHQ: “We are aware that Shaun Murphy visited Portugal last week to attend the funeral of his close friend and former manager, Brandon Parker.”
“He visited the Algarve, where the Covid-19 infection rate is very low. We have been in close contact with Shaun in recent days, and on arrival in the UK he travelled directly to Sheffield to enter the event bubble we had in place there for the Betfred World Championship qualifiers.
“The World Snooker Tour has strict measures in place regarding the travel of its elite competitors.
“Shaun had a COVID-19 test upon entering the event bubble which returned a negative result.
“He will remain in Sheffield within the event environment for the next week until his opening match at the Crucible on August 3rd. Prior to this, he will have another COVID-19 test.
“The Betfred World Championship is on the UK Government’s approved events list, and as a result, the elite players can travel under strict policies and guidelines.”
World number ten Murphy was drawn against Noppon Saengham in the first round of the World Championship on Wednesday morning.
In Portugal today, laying my best friend Brandon to rest. It’s all over now, you can rest. Love you 💔 pic.twitter.com/dvu0sOIyr8
— Shaun Murphy (@Magician147) July 23, 2020
Pingback: Noppon Saengkham 'Surprised' After Beating Shaun Murphy - SnookerHQ
Pingback: Noppon Saengkham ‘Surprised’ After Beating Shaun Murphy – Bouncing Bill