"There is little reason to be positive at the moment" - Injury troubles leave Dirk van Duijvenbode full of doubt heading into World Darts Championship

Dirk van Duijvenbode has been struggling with a nasty shoulder injury for a while now. The 31-year-old Dutchman has gone out early at each of the past few majors.

Van Duijvenbode was having an excellent year, winning three Players Championships and reaching the quarterfinals of the Masters. Because of his strong performance, he had even climbed to the top ten of the world rankings. Just after the summer, however, he suffered a shoulder injury, which is still troubling him.

Looking towards the PDC World Darts Championship, which starts next month at the Alexandra Palace, improvement does not seem to present itself immediately.

"The injury is still there," Van Duijvenbode told Viaplay. "It just doesn't seem to get better or at least very slowly. I've been treated with needles for the past few weeks and also received an injection, so hopefully there is still some light at the end of the tunnel."

Van Duijvenbode, who entered as 12th seed In the second round, will take on the winner of the duel between Keegan Brown and Boris Krcmar. If Van Duijvenbode makes it through that second round, a duel with two-time former world champion Gary Anderson possibly awaits in the third round. "Because of that injury there is little reason to be positive at the moment," he said. Especially since I still don't know the cause of my problems. This is really particularly frustrating."

Van Duijvenbode is there for the fifth consecutive year at the World Darts Championship. In 2021, he recorded his best performance by reaching the quarter-finals, where he eventually lost 5-1 to Gary Anderson. Last year, the Dutchman was stranded in the fourth round after a 4-1 defeat to his compatriot Michael van Gerwen.