Michael van Gerwen could miss Premier League Darts due to health issues
Michael van Gerwen’s participation in the Premier League Darts on Thursday is under threat due to a health problem, as he is currently awaiting test results that will determine his fitness to compete against Luke Littler, reports BritPanorama.
The governing body confirmed the situation following discussions with Van Gerwen’s management. “Michael has a medical issue and is awaiting results of tests which will determine whether he can travel to Glasgow,” the statement said.
Van Gerwen, currently ranked fourth in the world, leads the Premier League standings and was poised for a highly anticipated quarter-final clash with reigning world champion Luke Littler. Should he be unable to compete, Littler would advance automatically to the semi-finals.
Concerns about Van Gerwen’s condition were first raised by close friend and former professional Vincent van der Voort during an appearance on the Darts Draait Door podcast in the Netherlands. He remarked, “Unfortunately, we still don’t know for sure if Michael will play. He’s picked something up and is on antibiotics. I can’t say yet that he’ll be there.”
Van der Voort added, “We’ll have to wait and see over the coming days. Tests are being done, and I hope they find it quickly so it can be resolved. There’s a chance he won’t be there. Everything is uncertain for now. Every time you think it’s turning the right way, something happens again.”
This comes at a challenging time for the three-time world champion, who has been enjoying a significant resurgence in form. Van Gerwen had recently claimed victory on the opening night of the Premier League in Newcastle and reached the final in Antwerp, only to be defeated by Gerwyn Price. His ProTour performances have also been promising, with a semi-final and quarter-final appearance in the first two Players Championship events of the season.
Earlier this year, he secured the Bahrain Masters trophy, indicating a turnaround following a difficult 2025 season both on and off the oche. Despite facing recent challenges, Van Gerwen is a distinguished three-time PDC World Champion, having previously held the world No 1 ranking for seven consecutive years between 2014 and 2021. He made his mark on the sport as a teenage prodigy, winning the World Masters in 2006 at just 17 years old.
As anticipation builds ahead of the Premier League’s next face-off, the sport waits with bated breath to see if Van Gerwen will make it to the oche once again, a stark reminder of the fragility of sporting endeavours amid the pressures of professional competition.
