Michael van Gerwen has told his orange army to put their shirt on him on Thursday night – after suffering one of the most freakish sporting injuries.
Van Gerwen has only failed to qualify for the BetMGM Premier League play-offs once in 12 years, but he could miss out this time because he had to skip the Berlin leg two weeks ago when he ricked his neck trying on a new range of his signature green tops. Gerwyn Price, one of his closest rivals for a top-four spot, was awarded a 6-0 walkover and MVG admitted: “Sometimes things occur where you think, ‘Oh my God, how did that happen?’ – and this is one of them.”
And Van Gerwen, who faces Stephen Bunting at Rotterdam’s Ahoy! Arena, knows he could have his work cut out to reach the play-offs at the O2 on May 29. The three-times world champion is embarrassed about the muscle spasm which left him unable to throw a dart, and his misadventure goes straight into the pantheon of bizarre injuries including:
Van Gerwen, going for a record eighth Premier League crown, said: “It’s annoying, a stupid way to get injured, and if I could turn back the clock, of course things would turn out different.
“My sponsors Winmau gave me some new designs for shirts, I wanted to try them on and I was a bit too quick. I had some treatment and tried to get rid of the discomfort as quick as possible but I couldn’t even throw a dart. I’m pain-free now – it’s still a little bit stiff, but it doesn’t affect my darts.
“Until a few weeks ago, I was playing some lovely darts with good averages, and this came along at the wrong moment. It’s not the most pleasant moment of my career but I’ll never give up, I’ll fight for everything. You don’t lose talent like that overnight.”
Van Gerwen could face league leader Luke Littler, his conqueror in the PDC World Championship final last January, if they both clear their first hurdle at the Ahoy!
Luke the Nuke may have to brace himself for a rough ride from the Dutch hordes, but MVG hopes they DON’T give Littler the bird.
He said: “Why would you boo someone who is that good? Why would you boo him? I struggle to find a reason why people boo somebody anyway. Even if you don’t support someone, it’s not a reason to boo him.”
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