"Luckily it's getting better and better" - Dirk van Duijvenbode growing in optimism amidst injury concerns

Dirk van Duijvenbode will play his first match at the 2024 World Darts Championship on Friday, Dec. 22. Last Tuesday night, Van Duijvenbode was a guest on Viaplay Darts, where he talked about his shoulder injury, among other things.

Dirk van Duijvenbode started this season excellently with three Players Championship titles and two finals on the Euro Tour. More recently however, Van Duijvenbode has been struggling with a severe shoulder injury, which has caused him several first-round exits at major tournaments. He will face Croatian dart player Boris Krcmar in his first match at this edition of the World Darts Championship.

Van Duijvenbode explained on Viapla that he knows what injury he has, but not exactly how he got it. "I don't know how I got the injury. I was already suffering in that area, but couldn't explain what it was. After the World Grand Prix I flew back and I think I was in the wrong position with my neck. I had done another treatment, which didn't feel so good. When I was throwing in my practice room, I noticed that I couldn't get my arm to 90 degrees anymore. I couldn't even get it straight anymore.''

Van Duijvenbode was very relieved after hearing his diagnosis. "There were some serious scenarios involved, nerve damage and things like that. It wasn't that in the end. So the cause was less than it could have been. That would have been a very long recovery, with the question of whether I could come back 100 percent. Fortunately, it wasn't."

Van Duijvenbode says he can continue playing darts, but with some limitations: "I can't play darts as long as I would like. Two hours is my limit. That's pretty good, because at first it wasn't possible. I am now busy making all the muscles around me strong again. Luckily it's getting better and better. Van Duijvenbode currently throws without a brace, but will take it to the Alexandra Palace in case of a long match.

Later in the broadcast, Van Duijvenbode's final preparations for the World Darts Championship were discussed. ''It's different now than ever. I train spread out. I try to spread it over, for example, the afternoon and the evening.'' Van Duijvenbode will try to incorporate a longer preparation time at the Alexandra Palace with more breaks in between.