Friday 23 December 2016 16:21, UK
Flying Dutchman Vincent van der Voort says he is considering retiring after continuing to battle his back problems.
The 2007 UK Open runner-up fell at the first hurdle to 20-year-old German Max Hopp at the World Darts Championship on Thursday night.
Van der Voor has been forced to endure intensive treatment on his back with up to three sessions per day of therapy since November.
And now Van der Voort is considering his future in the sport following his first-round exit which he feels could well have been his final Alexandra Palace appearance.
"This is probably my last one - the way I look at it now I'm ready to give in, because it's just hurting so much and I've done everything I could," Van der Voort told the official PDC website.
"I'm not throwing the same, I'm not standing like I used to and I've got two hernias in my lower back.
"I'm playing against myself, not my opponent. Everything is a struggle at the moment and it's hard work when you're not playing like you used to.
"I've been to physiotherapists, and so many different therapists and it's not getting every better, and it hurts so much that at one point you have to think about retiring.
"I put everything into the last two months to make the back better, and I don't know what more I can do. I will probably be at the UK Open Qualifiers in February, I'm just thinking about what's next in my life really.
"I want to quit, because every time I play it hurts so much and you lose to players you shouldn't lost to, but on the other hand I love the game as well."
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