"You could see right away something was wrong": Vincent van der Voort sheds light on Michael van Gerwen's injury travails

Vincent van der Voort has shed light on the injury that forced Michael van Gerwen to withdraw from last week’s Premier League Darts night in Berlin and miss the International Darts Open over the weekend.

Speaking on the Dutch podcast Darts Draait Door, Van der Voort—who traveled with Van Gerwen to Berlin—recalled the moment his longtime friend first felt something was off.

“Michael hurt himself in the afternoon—it was really unfortunate,” Van der Voort explained. “He was trying on some shirts for his sponsor, and as soon as he put one on, he said something didn’t feel right. He could barely move his neck.”

Despite the discomfort, Van Gerwen did everything in his power to try and compete. “He went to a physiotherapist, had a massage, even took muscle relaxants,” Van der Voort revealed. “He gave it a go, but it just wasn’t happening. We ended up going back to the hotel, packed up, and drove home. I was back home by 2 a.m.”

From the moment they arrived at the venue, Van der Voort knew it wasn’t looking good for the Dutch superstar. “During the warm-up, he still couldn’t turn his head properly. That’s when he knew it was over and he pulled out immediately,” he said.

“You could tell he was in serious pain,” Van der Voort added. “He was stiff, quiet—completely unlike him. Normally, he’s the loudest guy in the room,” he said with a laugh. “But this time, he was just suffering. It was a complete disaster of a day.”

There is, however, some good news for Van Gerwen fans. Van der Voort confirmed to Sportnieuws.nl that the three-time World Champion is set to return to action at the Players Championship on Tuesday. Should everything go smoothly, he plans to compete again the following day.