Michael van Gerwen faces race for fitness ahead of Premier League Darts play-offs
Reigning Premier League Darts champion Michael van Gerwen is facing a battle for fitness ahead of the play-offs in London next week.
Van Gerwen sustained a shoulder injury midway through his Quarter-Final tie with Chris Dobey in Aberdeen on Thursday and subsequently withdrew from his Semi-Final.
The Dutchman raced into a 5-0 lead before Dobey hit back with three straight legs, but MVG eventually dragged himself over the line to seal a 6-3 victory.
He immediately received medical treatment backstage, having strained a muscle in his upper arm, and had vowed to return to the stage to face Dimitri van den Bergh.
However, after winning the bull in the practice room, Van Gerwen experienced further discomfort and made the decision to pull out of the game, handing Van den Bergh a bye through to the final.
Speaking to Viaplay after his withdrawal, Van Gerwen admitted: “Sometimes you have muscle pain but nothing like this – I don’t know exactly what happened.
“I had a good feeling when I was leading 5-0, but from that moment it got worse and worse.
“It sort of felt like a heavy arm. I’ve just spoken to the medical people and they said it was some kind of muscle strain, nothing serious.
“I won the bull against Dimitri for the semis and I was going to play, but it didn’t feel good. With next week coming up I didn’t want to take any risk – that’s really important and I’m going to focus on that.
“I want to make the right decisions and I don’t think it’s the right decision to play now.
“I think for me at the moment it’s important to take some rest and have somebody look at it because next week is so important.”
Van Gerwen ended the league phase in third spot and is due to face Michael Smith in the Semi-Finals at The O2 on Thursday – marking a repeat of January’s World Championship final.
The 34-year-old is bidding to eclipse the joint record of six Premier League titles he currently shares with Phil Taylor.
Van Gerwen opted out of playing in the ‘Armageddon’ exhibition in Leicester on Friday prior to the Players Championship double-header at the same venue over the weekend – where he is currently among the entry list.
I’m gutted that I had to pull out of my semi-final in Aberdeen this evening as I I hate letting the fans down. But after winning the bull it just didn’t feel right. Now I will do everything in my power to be 100% for the finals next week. Thank you for all the messages 💚💚 pic.twitter.com/jnZtIa1mcF
— Michael Van Gerwen (@MvG180) May 18, 2023
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