"There was a part of me that was relishing the opportunity, maybe about 20 percent of me was disappointed because he's coming to the end of his career, and you don't get many chances to play Ronnie," Clarke told the BBC.
Higgins, though, reckons that his old rival won't be out for much longer and thinks O'Sullivan's continued absence is due to him getting used to a new cue.
I think he'll be putting the hours in behind the scenes and getting himself ready for the last part of the season, without a doubt.".
There's been no indication of when we can expect to see the Rocket back in action, and speculation of him retiring has ramped up after he withdrew from a ranking tournament for the sixth time this season.
I think he's one of the sort of guys who will not want to turn up to an event and not be used to the new piece of equipment that he wants to use.
