"The slang version is bog eye, it had to be done": Luke Littler had vital surgery that could've derailed darting dream

Luke Littler nearly saw his darting dream go up in smoke he revealed if it wasn't for surgery that he had as a child to cure his dodgy eyesight. The current World Champion who returns tonight against Mensur Suljovic was born with a condition called Strabismus.

This means his eyes do not look at the same place at the same time. Doctors consulted with his parents and he had surgery in his hometown of Warrington as a child albeit he has very little memories of getting it done in the first place but as he battles this week for the £1m top prize it was very much vital.

“I don’t even know what’s the right word. The slang version is ‘bog eye’ but what’s the actual word for it? Obviously when you’ve got one normal eye. I don’t have memories of it now. But obviously it had to be done and it got done. I was four or maybe five, obviously got it sorted," he said as per The Sun.

Albeit while he spoke of the importance of such an operation, he only really knows much about it as he saw pictures of himself as a child looking tired. “Yeah, obviously it’s really important. I don’t have many memories of that happening. There’s pictures that me and my family put on. I was very tired at the time, resting. But now we’re all good.” 

He accepted too that he may not have been in the position he was in without this surgery going successful which thankfully for him it did. “Yeah, well, who knows? It’s one of them, obviously, it had to be sorted. Obviously, mum and dad wanted that sorted. When I was younger, I didn’t really care. But now you look at it, obviously it was a good thing to get done.

“As I said, I don’t have many memories of that happening. There are pictures that me and my family put on [social media]. I think that’s the last time I was in hospital for anything."

Albeit he still doesn't have regular eye tests despite this condition saying he will only do so when his vision starts to go blurry. “Maybe I did when I was at the hospital, but not even with darts. Obviously for a normal person, if your vision starts to go blurry or something, that’s when you have to go to the doctors, so fingers crossed nothing happens.”

He also issued a rallying call to fans to tune into the sport and to ditch the football for the return of the darts. Albeit his team Manchester United won against Newcastle on Boxing Day so he very much would say that given they will not play on December 27th.

“If it’s your first time, the sport has taken off, leaps and bounds and Christmas is darts. Obviously, there’s football going on as well. But all I see is Christmas is for darts. And if anyone’s not watching it at the minute, then you should turn it on after Christmas.”