MIKE Dunn is facing a far bigger battle than any he has ever encountered on a snooker table.

Having only been released from James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough a few days ago, Dunn is still taking steroids to help manage a debilitating illness that has affected him for the past couple of months.

Incredibly, despite being “physically and mentally exhausted”, the 45-year-old cueman battled to a 4-2 victory over Malta’s Alex Borg in the first round of the Dafabet English Open in Barnsley on Tuesday morning – his first win since August.

An emotional Dunn was visibly shaking in his post-match press conference and although he declined to go into specifics about his condition, the world No.43 admits the past couple of months have put snooker into perspective

“I’d rather not say what the illness is,” apologised Dunn, who faces world No.15 Kyren Wilson in round two on Wednesday.

“There are still a lot of things that need investigating and looking at – it’s ongoing, I’ll just say that.

“I feel terrible. I’m on steroids at the moment because I’m having problems. It’s difficult because I’m quite emotional because I’ve got other things to deal with away from the table.

“I’m just trying my best – snooker’s not everything and at the moment I don’t care about it.

“The wife brought me here and she’s going to drive me home [to Redcar] because I’m mentally and physically exhausted. I’m shaking because of the drugs I have to take.

“I’m playing with bruises all over my arms where I’ve had injections and needles. I'm just covered because of the treatment I have to get – things are tough.”

There was also passage into the second round for Gateshead’s John Astley as he made breaks of 58, 71 and 56 to beat veteran Paul Davison 4-2.

Watch the English Open LIVE on Eurosport 1 and Quest, featuring daily studio analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds