Darts star Michael van Gerwen has revealed he is set to undergo more surgery and "might not look or sound the same for a little while" as a result.
Van Gerwen returned to action at the European Darts Matchplay, having been forced to pull out of the World Cup of Darts last month following dental and jaw surgery. The Dutchman was beaten 6-3 by his compatriot Raymond van Barneveld and admitted he is "still recovering" and not yet back to his best as the operation requires "a lot of recovery time".
In a statement on social media, he said: "I just wanted to send an update to everyone following my recent dental surgery and my return to action Saturday. Firstly, I'd like to thank all my friends for their support in recent weeks, and also congratulate Raymond for his win over me in Trier his finishing was brilliant.
"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. 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. 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 Barneveld, meanwhile, was full of praise for Van Gerwen after their match. "Michael is an amazing player," he said.
"To me, he is still the best in the world. Tonight Michael didn't play his A-game, but I never gave up and my doubles went in, so I'm really happy.
"To beat him on the [European Tour] stage is a great feeling, and it shows even as a 56-year-old, you can still do well. I'm working really hard and the hard work pays off.
"I have qualified for the World Matchplay, but we have to move further, and I proved tonight that I can still do this." Following his victory over Van Gerwen, Van Barneveld also defeated Ryan Searle as he reached the quarter-finals of a PDC European Tour event for the first time since 2017.
