“Got me up to dance and I jumped up and down and it popped" - Nick Kenny details broken foot following World Cup celebrations

Nick Kenny made the step up in his darting career with the huge responsibility of representing his country alongside Jonny Clayton at the World Cup of Darts. It would be a memorable few days for the Welshman, but not the first time that he has bestowed this honour, recalling the time be broke his foot back in 2019 after winning the BDO national team title.

Wales were triumphant in that tournament while Kenny faltered in the semi-finals of the singles event, rallying to claim bronze in a very productive tournament.

It was not the most simple task for Kenny who was battling a stress fracture and was in severe pain when proceedings began in Romania.

On the Tops and Tales podcast, he broke down all the details. “I went to the World Cup and the singles is on the first day," he explained. I’m getting through, getting through, getting through and I am in the semi-finals."

He would lose the semi-finals in the singles event 6-3 to Aussie Peter Machin, the pain so overwhelming. “I’ve played awesome all day and I'm thinking I should win this now. But my foot's killing. I am crying on the oche in tears. I couldn’t give up. Peter Machin it was, the Australian."

Kenny tried to figure it out, but had no luck. “I was like, oh my foot. There’s something going on here. I thought it might be from leaning on the oche as well."

In the end, he would lose the match but more jubilant scenes would occur. “I lost the game in the end. I was gutted," he admitted. "So all week I managed seeing the on-site paramedics give me spray. We won the team cup. We beat Hong Kong. So we beat Paul Lim, Kai Fang Lu, Ryden Lam. We won it and had a celebration afterwards.”

Following that success he had for his country, the Newport thrower had originally called it a night before his fellow countrymen surprised him with their intentions of continuing the celebrations.

“I then have gone to bed. So Jim Williams has come into my room with Neil Duff," he continued. “’Come on, Nick, get up and come to the gala.’ So we’ve gone down and had a few drinks. I have forgotten about my foot."

This would prove to be detrimental as he suffered a nasty injury. “Got me up to dance and I jumped up and down and it popped. I could feel the ache through the bones. So I broke my foot, basically. Stress fracture."

Nevertheless, that turned out to be a brilliant week for Kenny despite the aftermath. "But that week was probably the best week of my life. It was on the way out and it popped. I was in a boot then for six weeks. Deta Hedman is wheeling me around in the wheelchair through special access.”

Seven years later, Kenny would fill in for Gerwyn Price in the prestigious Welsh team that had enjoyed so much success in the past. Reigning finalists, the 33-year-old was under huge amounts of pressure to partner Clayton and live up to the expectations placed upon his shoulders.

In the end, a painful 8-7 loss to England in the quarter-finals could have been diverted if Kenny was able to give himself a match dart, missing the big number at a crucial time.

Now back competing on the PDC Tour, he has work to do to get into the Players Championship Finals and PDC World Darts Championship. Ranked 64th in the world, Kenny is under huge threat of losing his Tour Card at the end of the year after securing it all the way back in 2023. A big couple of months are in store for Kenny who will hope to find his best level once more.