Michael van Gerwen still not ready for return after illness, withdraws from latest Players Championship double header
PDCTuesday, 24 February 2026 at 08:50
The medical situation surrounding Michael van Gerwen continues. The Dutch world number four already had to withdraw last week from the Premier League Darts in Glasgow and the first Euro Tour of the year in Poland. He will also have to skip Players Championships 5 and 6 in Leicester.
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Van Gerwen is dealing with a medical issue for which he is on antibiotics. The symptoms have still not subsided. Since his Premier League appearance in Antwerp on 12/02/2026, the 36-year-old has not played.
After Antwerp, he skipped the third and fourth Players Championships on the floor. In the period that followed, the physical problem emerged that forced him to pull out of both the Premier League night in Glasgow and the Euro Tour weekend in Krakow.
Who else is missing in Leicester?
His name is also missing this week from the entry list at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, where Players Championships 5 and 6 will be staged on Tuesday and Wednesday. As a result, Van Gerwen again misses valuable chances to earn pounds for the ranking.
Notably, several big names are also absent. Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Stephen Bunting, and Nathan Aspinall had already withdrawn from the double-header. Wessel Nijman, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez, and James Wade have also decided not to take part in the upcoming Pro Tour twin bill. That opens the door for reserves. For the 128 players on site, it represents a prime opportunity to contest the title and the associated ranking points without a number of top stars.
The withdrawals come at an unfortunate time for Van Gerwen. The three-time world champion had started 2026 strongly, including a World Series title, a floor semi-final, and a nightly win in the Premier League.
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From a sporting perspective, this season is about defending his fourth place in the world rankings. After two difficult years, both physically and privately, prize money is essential to maintain his spot among the elite. Due to his current absence, those chances are receding for now.
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- I'd happily pay for a site free of Van der Voort's every squeak and utterance.StraightArrowNoBull19-08-2026
- I think you miss the point. It is just a poll if you are willing to pay for an ad-free site. The content stays free.SheGotLegs16-08-2026
- It's great to see Mark Webster looking well,he's a top ladrick6715-08-2026
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