Michael van Gerwen suffered freak neck harm forward of Premier League ‘making an attempt on shirts’

Michael van Gerwen was a notable absentee on Thursday evening and Vincent Van der Voort has now revealed why Van Gerwen missed out on Premier League darts

Michael van Gerwen was missing for Premier League Darts in Berlin – all because he wanted to try on a shirt.

With just a couple of hours before the showpiece, PDC Darts released a statement announcing Van Gerwen would not be competing due to injury.

And the reason for the injury has now been disclosed. Vincent Van der Voort, speaking on Dutch podcast Darts Draait Door, said: “Michael hurt himself in the afternoon – it was really unfortunate.

“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.”

However, Mighty Mike was determined to make an appearance. Van der Voort added: “He went to a physiotherapist, had a massage, even took muscle relaxants.

“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.

“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.

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

Instead, it was Stephen Bunting’s evening, with the Bullet ending his barren spell and claiming his first win of the tournament en route to the nightly win.

Meanwhile, Luke Littler proved he is human after all – and he went crashing out at the hands of Chris Dobey in the opening round.

The Nuke, however, is still flying high at the top of the standings.