Michael van Gerwen pulls out of ANOTHER darts event for medical reasons as statement released

Michael Van Gerwen Pulls Out of ANOTHER Darts Event for Medical Reasons as Statement Released

Michael van Gerwen’s difficult week took another turn on Friday morning when the PDC confirmed his withdrawal from the SUPERBET Poland Darts Open — the second event in as many days that the three-time world champion has been forced to pull out of due to a medical issue.

Van Gerwen had already missed Premier League Night Three in Glasgow on Thursday evening, where a PDC statement confirmed he had been ruled out due to illness. The Dutchman had been hoping to make the trip to Scotland having initially awaited test results that would determine whether he could travel, but the results came back and he stayed at home. On his social media, Van Gerwen was brief but apologetic: “Sorry Glasgow. Unfortunately I had to withdraw from the Premier League tonight. Appreciate all the support.”

There was hope Friday would bring better news, but with the Poland Darts Open getting underway that morning in Kraków, the PDC confirmed Van Gerwen had been unable to recover in time. Two-time World Championship quarter-finalist Callan Rydz has been called up to take his place in the draw.

The nature of the illness had been hinted at before the Glasgow withdrawal. Van Gerwen’s close friend and former professional Vincent van der Voort revealed on the Dutch podcast Darts Draait Door that the 36-year-old had picked up something and was on antibiotics, warning that his participation in Glasgow was far from guaranteed. It proved to be an accurate read of the situation.

The timing is damaging on multiple fronts. Van Gerwen had been the standout performer of the early Premier League season, winning Night One in Newcastle and reaching the final in Antwerp the following week before losing to Gerwyn Price. He went into Glasgow at the top of the table with eight points from a possible ten — a near-perfect record that had many talking about a genuine title challenge.

Missing Glasgow cost him dearly under the tournament’s unforgiving withdrawal rules. With no league points awarded and a minus-six leg difference applied, Van Gerwen now sees his early lead eroded without having thrown a dart in anger. His quarter-final opponent Luke Littler, meanwhile, received a bye to the semi-finals along with two league points and a positive leg difference — a seven-point swing in total that goes down as one of the most painful accounting entries of Van Gerwen’s career without either player setting foot on a stage together.

Missing Poland, while a blow to his European Tour ranking, is the less pressing concern. The more significant question now is whether he will be fit for Premier League Night Four in Belfast on February 26. The PDC has confirmed that both Van Gerwen and Price — who also withdrew from Poland following Night Three — are expected to be available in Northern Ireland, and the two will meet each other in the quarter-finals when they return. Van Gerwen will need to do so fresh, focused, and healthy if he is to arrest what has swiftly become a damaging few days.

It is not the first time injury and illness have interrupted Van Gerwen’s Premier League campaign. He was unable to compete in Berlin last year after sustaining a shoulder injury, an absence that contributed to a difficult 2025 season overall. The hope from his camp will be that this latest setback is a short, sharp disruption rather than a sign of anything more serious, and that the player who looked so sharp in Newcastle and Antwerp can pick up exactly where he left off on the banks of Belfast Lough next Thursday.