Nathan Aspinall has opened up on his injury concerns ahead of his World Matchplay defence next month.
‘The Asp’ spoke candidly two weeks ago about his troubles and revealed his new injury is worse than his career-threatening injury two years ago.
Aspinall vowed to fight through the pain barrier and competed in last week’s Players Championship events.
The 32-year-old has withdrawn from this weekend’s event in Leverkusen however and has updated his fans on his progress.
Aspinall still in the dark over extent of injury
Aspinall took to Instagram to update his fans on his troubles three weeks ahead of his Winter Gardens return.
He said: “Had to pull out yet again this weekend, with ongoing issues with my arm. MRI scan on the elbow today.
“Let’s see what the problem is. Fingers crossed it’s nothing serious and a few weeks rest will be enough.”
If the MRI scans flag nothing serious, fans of the Stockport man will hope he has enough time to rest up before defending one of the biggest prizes in the sport.
Ongoing issues a serious concern for Aspinall
Darts is a better place with a fully fit Nathan Aspinall.
Fans will hope the MRI results are positive but if the results highlight significant damage to the elbow, it will be a catastrophic blow to the 2019 UK Open Champion.
If surgery is required, there’s a very small recovery window between now and the World Matchplay that boasts a £200k top prize.
Aspinall could be faced with an impossible decision to play through the pain and risk further injury or withdraw from darts’ biggest event outside of the World Championship.
‘The Asp’ has proved throughout his career that he is a fighter, so the latter choice won’t be an option.
He has battled through adversity before and if any player is equipped to deal with these issues effectively, it’s the two-time major winner.