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.
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 Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Stephen Bunting, and Nathan Aspinall had already withdrawn from the double-header.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.
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.
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- Exactly! Did the Glasgow punters get a partial refund for missing out on a potentially explosive match up? I don't know but I doubt it. Given the existing set up, how about this? Four reserves, one European based player to cover the four overseas rounds (including Dublin) and three UK based players to cover four UK rounds each (including Belfast). If the number of continental rounds changed to four for instance then Dublin could be transferred to the UK players allocation for convenience. All reserves should have their travel and accommodation costs covered and to make it worth their while, if they are not used, the reserve could play a match with a LOCAL non tour card holding player between the semi finals and final. This local player would be chosen by a prior qualifying tournament. The prize for this game could be £/euros 1000 or 2000 as the reserve could be spending his time and effort doing an exhibition instead not that I know what the commercial rate for an exhibition is! If the reserve is used in the main competition then the winner and the runner up of the qualifier can play. This could generate additional local interest and publicity. Obviously this doesn't cover every "what if" scenario i.e. What if two main players pull out? Maybe a second of the four reserves could be chosen at random? What do you think?OldShakey23-02-2026
- what a load of crocmedinabello19-02-2026
- So,it's a rubbish league,waste of time. Just put 8000 people in a building every Thursday,get them all drunk,and wonder why it's a complete joke. And forget every other player apart from 8. It's a ridiculous,inane,and needless so called competition.rick6718-02-2026
- Sorry,I've never been a professional darts player,but obviously from your comment,you have. So, going to your reply, you're blaming the management,not the player? So in that respect,he should get a different manager? That's basically all your comment is saying. Don't let him do money makers,which Barney said is easy money, instead of tournaments? Shake hands instead of trophies? Well I guess the manager knows best,as he has a big cut!rick6716-02-2026
- Sorry Mr rick67, erm what punditry credentials do you have to comment on a pundit? There's a reason why many top professionals have management teams. They know how to manage schedules etc so the players can just play. And how is Edgar wrong? Last year MVG failed to qualify by missing too many tournaments and underperforming. He's repeating the error this year so Edgar is right In calling this out.BandB15-02-2026
- Just get of Mardle,I didn't pay to watch him,and I don't want him for free! Let's see,how many world champions,either code,did you win? None! Now mason does it more as a player who was a floor player than you were putting pineapple on your shirt. Mardle,just go,you over inflated ego may follow. Tell you what,get on the seniors tour,and show everyone how good you weren'trick6715-02-2026
- Sorry Mr Edgar,erm what have you actually won to comment? Mvg has had his issues,but you have won a grand total of what? I make that nothing. So how can your comment be justified? Let him do what he likes,you do what you like, and we'll see what you win nextrick6715-02-2026
- Seems to be having a moan for no reason and using “Do-Gooder” as an insult makes no sense. It literally means someone who does good things!Wonker12-02-2026
- Mickey Vs mensur for the world champion? It's starting tomorrow,finishes in January!!rick6711-02-2026
- Oh well that's it then. Both these goofs will expect and demand premier league darts next year after this.richieburnettrocks10-02-2026
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