VIRUS BEHIND MVG STRUGGLE AT OCHE

By Aaron Nijjar  

MICHAEL van Gerwen’s recent struggle at the oche have been due to an ongoing virus he has been suffering with according to close friend Vincent van der Voort. 

‘The Green Machine’ withdrew from the Players Championship Eight yesterday at Hildesheim.  

Seven-time Premier League winner Van Gerwen departed in round one at the Players Championship Seven on Monday losing 6-3 to Germany’s Niko Springer.   

‘Mighty Mike’ has not reached the final of a tournament since his 7-3 World Championship final loss to Luke Littler in January.  

And the three-time world champion is still without a nightly victory in this year’s Premier League. 

Van der Voort revealed on the Darts Draait Door podcast Van Gerwen has been battling a virus throughout the year.

He said: “He’s been struggling with a virus or infection for quite some time now.  

“He picked it up during his holiday in Thailand back in early January, and he just hasn’t been able to shake it off. On top of that, he’s not in his best form. 

“He was already at the doctor’s this morning.  

“He’s not in a position to just skip tournaments. 

“The doctor told him it’s really unwise to spend so much time on planes, as that’s where bacteria spread easily.  

“But what choice does he have?”

The Dutchman was dumped out in his opening match at the Belgium Open earlier this month by World No. 119 Boris Krčmar, having won just one match at the UK Open the week prior.    

MVG’s best result this year has been a quarter-final finish at the Players Championship Five.

Van Gerwen returns to action tomorrow (Thursday) and will face Luke Humphries in night seven of the Premier League at Cardiff.  

Image by Taylor Lanning.