STRAP yourself in and prepare to be amazed. For if a certain Ronnie O’Sullivan can win the Betfair World Snooker Championship, after taking nearly a year off, it would surely take its place near the top of the table (no pun intended) in the pantheon of sporting achievements.

One of my sports desk colleagues, putting what it would mean into context, said it would compare to Muhammad Ali’s successful quest to regain the heavyweight boxing championship of the world after losing three years of his career for refusing to be drafted into the US Army.

I don’t think such comparisons are an over-exaggeration.

Success at the highest level is defined by the finest of margins. The tiniest of edges is what makes the difference.

As O’Sullivan returns to the ring, after just one half-hearted Players’ Tour Championship appearance since he won his fourth world crown in the Crucible cauldron nearly 12 months ago, he is looking for the sporting equivalent of a miracle.

Yes, I know he’s the most naturally gifted player ever to hold a cue.

More flamboyant than Steve Davis, more spectacular than the driven Stephen Hendry – a pair who have tasted success in Sheffield a combined total of 13 times.

But neither of them ever gave up the game and then attempted to return, Lazarus like, to reclaim former glories.

The task facing ‘Rocket’ Ronnie is huge.

Firstly, there is the mental torment.

The World Championship is a grind – a 17-day marathon of frame after frame, all rolling into one and threatening to break even the most strong-willed and dull the senses.

It’s tiring, it’s emotionally draining.

Consider also that the 37-year-old hasn’t potted a ball in anger – if you can really label his insipid display in a 4-3 defeat to Simon Bedford in such terms – since September.

With the tour on an ever-expanding curve thanks to World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn, his rivals have been honing their craft, playing every week, becoming grittily match-sharp.

O’Sullivan, by contrast, has been volunteering on a farm.

So why, as he steps back into the spotlight to face Marcus Campbell in the opening round this morning in front of a packed house at the Crucible and a TV audience of millions, is he the bookies’ favourite?

It’s because he is a man who can make a 147 in just over five minutes. A man who is as talented playing with his left hand as his right. A man who once won the Masters a week after destroying his cue.

“It could be a car crash, it could be good – you just don’t know,” he has himself said, comparing the circus he has created since announcing his intention to compete to starring in his own reality TV show.

O’Sullivan transcends sport.

He’s one of those rare figures, along with a certain golfer, that the general public recognises just by the uttering of their first name.

And although this looks like the steepest of tests, remember O’Sullivan has faced bigger challenges than this in his life.

A father jailed for life for murder, a spell in The Priory batting drugs and drink, and overcoming the demons of depression.

In the face of all that, potting a few balls should just be child’s play.

That, of course, is trivialising it.

He’ll have to play on inspiration, he may have to rely on reserves he didn’t know he had. But don’t make the mistake of thinking he won’t be ready. It would be simply remarkable if he could go on and do it.

Campbell could be in for a difficult day.