Michael van Gerwen was forced to miss last month's World Cup of Darts while recovering from dental surgery; the reigning World Matchplay champion is set to undergo more work after the tournament in Blackpool; the World Matchplay is live on Sky Sports from July 15-23
Monday 3 July 2023 18:05, UK
Michael van Gerwen is set to undergo further dental surgery, but still intends to defend his Betfred World Matchplay title in Blackpool later this month.
The three-time World Matchplay champion was forced to miss last month's World Cup of Darts while recovering from surgery on his mouth and returned to action over the weekend in the European Darts Masters.
Van Gerwen was beaten 6-3 by compatriot Raymond van Barneveld in Trier on his comeback and although he now has his sights set on the Matchplay in Blackpool, live on Sky Sports from July 15 to 23, the 34-year-old has confirmed he is due to have more surgery along with having braces fitted.
"After winning the Premier League and US Darts Masters recently, I needed to have pre-planned dental and jaw surgery which meant that I missed the World Cup of Darts," Van Gerwen said in a statement posted on social media.
"With the schedule being so busy it is always hard to fit in anything like this, especially with an operation which involves a lot of recovery time.
"In my case, I might not look or sound the same for a little while and I'll soon have braces fitted as well as needing some further surgery in the future."
Van Gerwen secured his third World Matchplay title with an 18-14 victory over Gerwyn Price in the final last year, moving second on the all-time winners list as a result.
The Dutchman is set to play in the Polish Darts Masters this weekend as well, although admits he is still not fully at his best following the initial dental surgery.
"I don't want this to affect my performances in the Poland Darts Masters and World Matchplay coming up and I'll be trying my best to win both events, but at the moment I'm also still recovering and hope that everyone can understand this," Van Gerwen added.
Watch the 2023 Betfred World Matchplay live on Sky Sports from July 15-23. Also stream on NOW TV.
