Gerwyn Price shares new 'health' statement after World Cup of Darts withdrawal
Gerwyn Price has shared a new statement on social media, clearing up speculation over his World Cup of Darts absence.
Gerwyn Price has confirmed in a statement that he has not pulled out of the World Cup of Darts due to health concerns. The world No.8 has simply made himself unavailable for selection, meaning Nick Kenny will now team up with an in-form Jonny Clayton for the mid-June competition.
Price and Clayton reached last year's World Cup final, overcoming the Philippines, Hong Kong and the Netherlands before meeting Northern Ireland in the decider. Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney denied Wales a third title, defeating them in the final. While Luke Littler and Luke Humphries enter the tournament as overwhelming favourites for England, a Price-Clayton partnership would still have positioned Wales as the third seeds. However, with Price stepping aside and world No.60 Nick Kenny brought in, Wales have dropped to seventh, meaning they must now battle through the group-stage round-one qualifiers.
This marks the third consecutive year Price has been absent from the World Cup, having previously withdrawn and been replaced by Jim Williams. Speculation has mounted over the reasons behind his latest withdrawal, but Price moved swiftly to dispel the rumours on Monday night.
Posting on Instagram, he wrote: "Just to clarify I have NOT withdrawn from the World Cup because of health reasons."
The exact reason why the 41-year-old has opted out of the tournament remains unclear, with his decision arriving just days after he shared a worrying health update following a 6-2 Premier League loss to Wales team-mate Jonny Clayton in Leeds last week.
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"My focus is there, it's just health-wise I am not in a great place at the moment," he said. "But I am battling on and searching for some results.
"Hopefully in the next couple of weeks they will come and they will put me at ease. Then I will be able to enjoy darts again. Frustrating times.Time to rely on Lady Luck and see what happens over the next two weeks. Hopefully make the play-offs, but I need a lot of luck to go my way. Hopefully see you at the O2.
"It's not good playing once a week and hopefully I get the results I want in three weeks' time. This year has been great in the Premier League and it's been a great start to the season. The crowd has got me through a lot of games but sometimes things happen you can't control."
This loss leaves Price on 21 points with two weeks still to play, occupying third spot in the standings, though Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen are all snapping at his heels.
The Premier League Darts circus moves to Birmingham on May 14, before heading to Sheffield ahead of the grand finale on Finals Night at the O2 in London.
