Luca Brecel faces a race against time to return to the Crucible for his second-round match with Ding Junhui on Saturday. The 2023 world champion has revealed on social media that he’s still in Belgium after returning home following his first-round match.

Only on Wednesday did Brecel complete his comeback win against Ryan Day. Having trailed 5-1 in the opening session against the Welshman, he stormed back to win nine of the final frames. However, it seems he then flew back to his homeland despite only having a 48-hour turnaround before his next match.

On Instagram this afternoon, he’s written: “I’ve got a private flight booked to Sheffield tomorrow at 15:00, anyone from Belgium who wants to join?”

Despite his generous offer, fans and critics have questioned Brecel’s schedule. He’s due to get underway against Ding at 7pm tomorrow, meaning that with the time difference he’s likely to touch down in the UK around four and a half hours before the first break-off.

Indeed, Brecel has never been one to do things conventionally. During his shock world title win two years ago, he famously admitted to staying out late partying during the tournament, yet he beat the defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan on his way to the final.

His crowning glory came when he beat Mark Selby 18-15 in the final. Numerous celebrity appearances followed, with Brecel also admitting he spent around £440,000 of his winnings on luxury cars, which he barely drives.

The current world No.7 is now training for an IronMan event, and has admitted his focus on training has affected his snooker.

However, after his fightback against Day, he’s now perceived as a contender to win again at the Crucible following the exits of seeded players like Selby, Mark Allen, and Kyren Wilson.