"It's a nightmare, 24 hours a day and seven days a week": Arthritis ruins farewell year for Phil Taylor

Phil Taylor is in his final year as a dart player, but for now "The Power" can't have much fun in his farewell year. Arthritis in the hip is throwing a spanner in the works for now.

Taylor won no fewer than 16 world titles in his career. In his very last World Championship appearance at the PDC, he managed to reach the final in 2018, but lost it against Rob Cross.

Several years later, the darter from Stoke-on-Trent returned to the senior circuit, but the tournaments there have yet to produce a title. In February, Taylor last played at the World Seniors Darts Championship, but there he lost in the first round to Manfred Bilderl (3-2).

That result caused huge disappointment for the now 63-year-old darts legend. ''It killed my leg, it killed my back. It killed everything. It's awful when you've got people there cheering you on and the crowd came back and they went really noisy. It was great to be a part of it,'' he told Online Darts in an interview.

Taylor, in fact suffers from arthritis in his hip. "I hate it and I won't go out like that. I'm desperate now to start playing properly. Because I've got Arthritis in my hip, I can't turn right so I'm not throwing straight. I've had to sit and think about it. Hopefully over the next week, I can shed a bit of weight and get rid of this pain as it's a nightmare, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even if you turn over in bed at night, you're in pain."

The former world number one will make a few more appearances on the World Seniors Darts Tour (WSDT). On March 23 and 24, "The Power" will compete in the Champion of Champions tournament in Blackpool and will face Martin Adams.