Shoulder injury forces Dirk van Duijvenbode to sleep alone in attic: "I need to get rid of this"

Dirk van Duijvenbode has been struggling with a shoulder injury for some time, 'Aubergenius' revealed Friday night after his defeat against James Wade at the European Darts Championship in Dortmund.

He recently already skipped four Pro Tour tournaments, but Friday it showed that the European Darts Championship came too soon for Van Duijvenbode. With an average of only 75, the Dutchman went down 6-3 against Wade, who also only averaged 80.

''It's because of the steering wheel feeling in my shoulder blade,'' Van Duijvenbode told De Telegraaf. ''If my arm went forward, my shoulder went backward. Three weeks ago, I couldn't make a throw from 90 degrees until stretching my arm.

"I couldn't even raise my arm, then everything blocked very quickly. Now I can throw that thing back up in one stroke. Only the muscle that compensated for everything that wasn't right in the shoulder blade, I now feel a kind of knife wound in it (in terms of feeling) with every dart I throw. Look, with normal play this would have been 6-1 or 6-0 for me. That then goes into your head as well and also doesn't help your energy to be able to sort it all out.''

Van Duijvenbode confessed in the run-up to the European Championship to have doubted for a while whether he would travel to Dortmund. ''Monday I did, but not anymore on Tuesday, because it really went much better. The physio told me that I am four to six weeks ahead of what is expected in my recovery. I was like: I'll put tape on the sore spot, put a spray on it and then I see myself having a chance to win at least two rounds. If I had been like: I'm not going to win that first round anyway, I wouldn't have participated. It all feels better, but it's just not there yet.

With several more tournaments ahead of him toward the World Championship in December, the question arises whether it would not be better if Van Duijvenbode took a break and then worked toward the prestigious event at Alexandra Palace.

''Concerns I don't have, but I do hope this is done within two weeks,'' Van Duijvenbode stated. ''If I have to throw like this, it's not going to be that much the rest of the year. I'm not assuming that, because I'm progressing so fast and I'm really doing everything I can. Everything is perfect, from nutrition to supplements to rest. That I can get back to the little one sooner now? That's good for the state of mind, because I have to be honest: I don't often find myself in the pit, but when they ran the diagnosis on it and said I'd be okay in December if things worked out, I was in the doldrums for a while. But now I'm weeks ahead of schedule. I'm probably losing because I haven't been able to praction for three to four weeks and have been on the sidelines.''

Van Duijvenbode says he is doing everything he can to be fit again at the last tournament before the World Darts Championship (late November). ''Those Players Championship Finals before the World Championship, I just have to be fit there. All my life goes aside for it. My work, my child -of course, I take good care of him-, everything goes aside to solve this as soon as possible. Mentally it's tough too, I have to admit.''

''At one point I felt like my bed was no good,'' said Van Duijvenbode, who now even sleeps alone in the attic. ''I don't like it, alone in the attic in the cold. It probably gives me a cold, too. That it's not good for that muscle either? It's just giving what you can give. I need to get rid of this."