- Van Gerwen pulled out a matter of minutes before he was due to play on the night
- He essentially forfeited his game, giving Gerwyn Price a bye to the semi-finals
- A close friend has now revealed the unusual way he picked up an injury issue
The reason why Michael van Gerwen missed the Premier League Darts night in Berlin last week has been revealed.
The seven-time winner of the competition sat out night seven of the season, pulling out just minutes before the start of the night, which was won by Stephen Bunting, got underway.
He was due to play fellow former world champion Gerwyn Price in Germany in the third quarter-final of the night, but the became the first player to pull out of action, giving the Welshman a bye to the last-four.
Van Gerwen, 35, also didn’t take part in the International Darts Open over the weekend – also won by Bunting – as concern grows over his fitness.
He returned to action on Tuesday in Players Championship 11 in Leicester, but suffered a first round defeat by fellow Dutchman Maik Kuivenhoven, who is ranked 114 in the world and only picked up a tour card on the last day of Q school.
And the reason for his absence has now been explained – he picked up an injury while putting his shirt on.
The reason why Michael van Gerwen pulled out of Premier League Darts on Thursday has been revealed
The seven-time champion was due to face Gerwyn Price but essentially forfeited the game just minutes before the game
His close friend and fellow pro Vincent van Der Voort has detailed the unusual way he picked up the injury
Vincent van Der Voort, who is a good friend of van Gerwen and a former UK Open finalist, revealed the news on darts podcast Darts Draait Door.
He said: ‘Michael hurt himself in the afternoon. It was really unfortunate.
‘He was trying on some shirts for his sponsor, and as soon as he put one on, he said something didn’t feel right. He could barely move his neck.’
Van Gerwen’s absence meant his hopes of qualifying for the play-offs at the O2 Arena at the end of the season.
He currently sits fourth in the league table, which is topped by Luke Littler, on 13 points, needing to finish in the top four to qualify. But he is just one point ahead of Rob Cross in fifth, having fallen behind losing finalist Price.
The three-time world champion was determined to play in Berlin, but the injury was just too much, van Der Voort revealed.
He added: ‘He went to a physiotherapist, had a massage, even took muscle relaxants.
‘He gave it a go, but it just wasn’t happening. We ended up going back to the hotel, packed up, and drove home. I was back home by 2am.
Stephen Bunting won the night in Berlin, having previously failed to win a game at all
Luke Littler remains top of the table with four nightly wins from nine weeks of the season
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‘During the warm-up, he still couldn’t turn his head properly. That’s when he knew it was over and he pulled out immediately.
‘You could tell he was in serious pain. He was stiff, quiet – completely unlike him. Normally, he’s the loudest guy in the room.
‘But this time, he was just suffering. It was a complete disaster of a day.’
