Reason for Jonny Clayton’s limp revealed as Premier League darts star opens up on painful battle

Reason for Jonny Clayton’s limp revealed as Premier League darts star opens up on painful battle

Jonny Clayton limped his way to the most impressive nightly win of the Premier League season so far — and then admitted he was dreading taking his shoe off afterwards.

The Ferret was visibly struggling throughout Night Six at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena on Thursday, favouring one leg from the moment he walked to the stage. After claiming his second nightly win of the 2026 campaign — beating Stephen Bunting, Michael van Gerwen, and then demolishing Luke Humphries 6-1 in the final — Clayton revealed the cause: a gout flare-up in both ankles that had threatened to derail his evening before it had even begun.

“I wasn’t expecting much tonight,” the Welshman told Sky Sports. “I suffer from gout, in my ankles, and tonight was a bit difficult with the way I walked. My arm was okay, by the looks of it, and that’s all that counts.”

Remarkably, Clayton’s throw betrayed none of the discomfort he was carrying below the oche. He was clinical throughout, finishing the night with a doubles success rate of 67 per cent in the final against Humphries — compared to the defending champion’s 13 per cent — in a performance that had all the hallmarks of a player operating well within himself.

The secret, he revealed, was refusing to sit still. “I was practising just to keep on it, as every time I sat down it stiffened up. It’s the most I’ve ever practised,” he said, before adding with a grimace: “I am dreading taking my shoe off.”

Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis caused by a build-up of uric acid crystals in the joints, most commonly affecting the feet and ankles. It can produce sudden and intense pain, swelling, and redness, and while medication can manage flare-ups, attacks are notoriously unpredictable. For a sport that demands a player stand and throw for extended periods across multiple matches in a single evening, it is far from an ideal companion.

That Clayton not only competed but dominated is all the more remarkable given the quality of opposition he faced. He dispatched Van Gerwen — who had beaten him earlier in the season — in the semi-finals before making Humphries look ordinary in the final, the reigning champion managing just one double from eight attempts as Clayton closed out a ruthless 6-1 victory.

The win moves Clayton clear at the top of the Premier League table on 19 points, eight ahead of Luke Littler in second after the world number one was eliminated by Humphries in the semis. Clayton has now reached five finals in six nights — winning two of them — and his consistency is making him look a very serious contender for the title come Finals Night at the O2 on May 28.

Whether his ankles will carry him there is perhaps the only question mark over a player who, right now, looks the Premier League’s most formidable force — gout and all.