“They said it won’t come back perfectly, but it should improve enough” – Lesson learned for Cameron Menzies who will forever suffer consequences of Ally Pally outburst

Cameron Menzies has been through a turbulent spell, but the Scottish darter is looking ahead again. After hand surgery, a difficult start to the season, and changes in his private life, the former plumber is trying step by step to return to his best level. That means more practice, better self-care, and working on his mental calm.

The Scot, now the number two in his country, feels he is on the right track, though he knows it takes time. “It’s getting there,” Menzies says in an interview with Viaplay. “I’m back in Scotland—back in the rain, sometimes snow—but it’s good to be home with the family. Things are going pretty well at the moment. I’m just trying to look after myself a bit more. I’m getting older now, not as young as I used to be.”

To get fitter, Menzies now works out regularly at the gym. That’s not only out of his own motivation, but also on doctor’s advice. “Yeah, I have to—doctor’s order,” he says. “I need to lose some weight because of my blood pressure. Since I’ve got time on my hands, I go to the gym two or three times a week whenever I can. That’s why I’m a bit sweaty just now.”

Beyond his physical condition, Menzies is also trying to find calm away from darts. He’s in a new relationship, though he remains cautious. “I wouldn’t say in love, but yeah, I’m in a relationship,” he says with a smile. “News travels fast—even to the Netherlands! It’s early days, just dating at the moment, but yeah, I like it. She’s close to home, and she doesn’t play darts—which is a good thing. I can go home and not talk about darts.”

On the sporting side, Menzies had a difficult start to the season, partly due to an injury that kept him out for weeks. As a result, he had to rebuild his rhythm, with a run in the Poland Darts Open a timely one. “I needed that because the start of the season hasn’t been great,” he explains. “After the injury, I struggled to throw because I lost a lot of feeling in my fingers. But mentally, I’m okay now—I knew it would be tough after not throwing for six weeks.”

To make up for the lost practice, he is now putting in more hours than ever. “I’m practising more than ever. I’ll probably go again after this interview, then do three or four hours at home, which I don’t usually do. I’m putting in extra hours to make up for it.”

The injury Menzies suffered occurred after an incident around the World Championship. He badly injured his hand, which required surgery. “After the accident, I had surgery,” he says. “They cut my hand open further to check the nerves and tendons because I’d sliced right through both sides of my hand. I had about 22 stitches.”

The recovery is going well, though the feeling in his hand hasn’t fully returned. “The nerves are still numb—I get pins and needles in my fingers. They said it won’t come back perfectly, but it should improve enough. I can hold a dart fine; it only really bothers me when it’s cold.”

The incident happened after Menzies hit a table in frustration, not knowing there was a metal part underneath. “It was what it was. I made a mistake,” he says. “I was stupid and punched the table, not realising there was a metal flight underneath that sliced my hand open. I had to wear a big bandage—like a boxing glove—for four weeks. It wasn’t great, but it’s a lesson learned.”

Since then, he has tried to handle tension and frustration differently, and he’s getting help. “I’ve been doing hypnotherapy—stuff to help relax my mind. I was going through a lot at the time and maybe wanted to win too much. That was the boiling point, and I snapped. Now I listen to relaxation tracks most nights to lower my stress levels. I’m quite an anxious person, so it helps me stay calmer. If things aren’t going right now, I try to take a breath instead of getting angry.”

A lot changed off the stage too. Menzies quit his job as a plumber last year to focus fully on darts. That brought new pressure.

“It’s not bad, but it’s different,” he says. “Now darts pays my bills, whereas before plumbing did and darts was just a hobby. That brings a different kind of pressure—it’s my job now.”

His time as a plumber also produced plenty of memories, some of which still make him laugh. “The best one: when I was an apprentice in Glasgow, we were fixing drainpipes in flats,” he recalls. “We told tenants not to use the water, but someone did. My boss cut the pipe and someone flushed the toilet—everything came straight out and hit him in the face. I was just standing there with towels, not knowing what to do. The job got cancelled, and we went home because he was covered in it. Not great for him, but funny to see.”

Despite everything, Menzies remains ambitious. As Scotland’s current number two, he hopes to represent his country at the World Cup of Darts soon.

“Hopefully I get a chance to play,” he says. “Even just once would be a dream—especially if I could play with Gary Anderson. But Peter Wright is still fighting for his place—he beat me at the UK Open, so he wants it back.”

Playing with Anderson would be special for him. Despite this, the two-time world champion, who often sits with his fellow Scot, has offered him a warning. “Gary’s already told me I’d need to behave if we were playing together! If we’re up against a big team, I’d better be on my best behaviour.”