Michael van Gerwen has revealed that he will go under the knife less than 24 hours after losing to Luke Humphries in the World Matchplay final. The Dutchman was defeated in an 18-15 thriller as Humphries became just the fourth player in history to win the World Darts Championship and Matchplay in the same year.
Three-time winner Van Gerwen did not want to blame his jaw ailment for losing to Humphries, though would have been desperate to end a miserable 12 months, by his standards, with a major title. He had four darts to level at 16-16 and another three to make it 17-16, but the loss was compounded by a necessary surgery on his teeth.
”In 14 hours I will be under the knife,” Van Gerwen said to Dutch TV station Viaplay after coming off the stage against Humphries. ”Why so soon? Because the doctor has time then. It’s part of the job. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time and I’m also looking forward to the second half of the season. I think I showed nice things here and did myself a nice service. I can be proud of myself.”
Van Gerwen refused to point the finger at anyone but himself, despite his opponent being forced to tell the Winter Gardens crowd to stop jeering and whistling when the 35-year-old was at the oche going for his doubles.
”I feel pretty okay, but I did sell myself short,” Van Gerwen added. ”I started the match lollygagging so I had to come from far, but you know the match is long enough. In the end you also come back, but you let yourself down so incredibly. That hurts me a lot, because this was completely unnecessary. But yes, eventually the ailment of missing doubles came up again and I can blame myself for that.
”It would be sad if I blamed someone in the hall. That whistle doesn’t matter to me. You have to stand up to everything. I made mistakes myself.”
Now Van Gerwen is facing the prospect of a month out of action after surgeons operate on his jaw. Mighty Mike revealed that he couldn’t even bite a slice of ham before taking to the operating room, where his jaw would be broken and reset.
“They are going to break and reset my upper and lower jaw,” Van Gerwen told Dutch outlet AD prior to the Matchplay. “My upper jaw, they are going to take it six millimetres forward and my lower jaw they are going to put back just three millimetres. I have a big underbite, a penny bowl, as they call it.
“That bothers me a lot. Anyway, with eating, but your teeth also wear down and you snore more because of it. I’m looking forward to it. I can’t bite through a slice of ham yet. You get fed up with that at some point. After this, I hope to put a stop to all the physical ailments.
“I hope to be a long way from everything within four weeks. The plan is for me to play the Players Championships on August 21 and 22 again. That’s not too bad, it’s more like discomfort, but it’s just important to do the right thing for yourself.”
