Luke Littler has revealed how he had to undergo major corrective eye surgery as a child.
The reigning world champion, 18, suffered with strabismus, a condition also known as cross eye or ‘a squint’, meaning his eyes pointed in different directions as a youngster.
If left untreated, strabismus can lead to complications such as blurred or double vision, or even a lazy eye.
Concerned about the long-term impact, Littler’s parents Anthony and Lisa took him to Warrington Hospital for surgery.
‘I think it’s called Bog Eye – when you’ve got one normal eye,’ Littler said. ‘I think that’s the last time I was in that hospital, when I was four or five. Obviously got it sorted.
‘I don’t have any memories of it now. But obviously it had to be done. And it got done.
Luke Littler has revealed how he underwent major corrective eye surgery as a youngster
The young darts sensation had strabismus, a condition also known as cross eye or ‘a squint’
‘My mum and dad wanted that sorted. When I was younger, I didn’t really care. But now you look at it, obviously it was a good thing to get done.’
Footage of Littler throwing darts in his nappy as a youngster famously went viral when he burst onto the scene a couple of years ago. However, those images also showed how the condition affected his eyes.
‘Your eyes are really important,’ he continued. ‘There are pictures that me and my family put online (from that time).
‘I was very tired at the time, obviously resting. But yeah, now we’re all good.
‘It’s my home-town hospital. They do an unbelievable job down there so I think it’s really important to go and support them when I can.’
The condition affects around one in 20 children in Britain and the corrective surgery takes around an hour under general anaesthetic.
Littler now needs his eyes to compete in a sport where millions can be won and lost in millimetres, but admitted he does not go for an annual eye test.
The teenager added: ‘The last time I had one? Maybe when I was at the hospital.
‘Not even with darts, obviously with any normal person, if you start to go blurry or something, then that’s when you have to go to the doctors. So yeah, fingers crossed nothing happens.’
Littler is back in action on Saturday night at Ally Pally as he looks to take one step closer to defending his world title. He will have to defeat Mensur Suljovic to reach the last 16.
