The 39-year-old was left unable to compete in Graz over the weekend due to a trapped nerve in his back as Luke Littler won the Austrian Darts Open in his absence, but there was hope that the Iceman would make it back in time for Thursday’s trip to Scotland.
However, the PDC revealed only hours before the event that Price will sit out and pay the price with zero points and a painful hit to his leg difference. Their statement reads: “Gerwyn Price has withdrawn from Thursday’s BetMGM Premier League night in Aberdeen as he continues to struggle with a back problem.
“2021 World Champion Price was unable to compete in last weekend’s Austrian Darts Open after suffering a trapped nerve in his back. The Welshman has undergone treatment since last Friday but has not recovered sufficiently to travel to Scotland to take part in Night 14 at P&J Live.”
Price’s slated opponent, Luke Humphries, has received a bye into the night’s semi-finals, automatically giving him two points on the board and +1 leg difference. Up to this point, no player in this season’s Premier League has taken a six-leg hit, like the one Price has had to accept, by being whitewashed.
The Welshman was well beaten by Littler in his opening Premier League match in Liverpool last week, leaving him second from bottom in the standings as the end of the 17-week competition closes in.
There will only be two nights remaining after Aberdeen, and former world champion Price will need to claw back a deficit of at least seven points to make it into the play-offs and fight for the £275,000 top prize.
Littler currently tops the Premier League with 31 points on the board, 18 matches won and three nightly victories. The 17-year-old is closely followed by reigning world champion Humphries, whose pursuit has been aided by Price’s withdrawal.
Nathan Aspinall started the season slowly but now sits in third place, with Michael van Gerwen slipping down to fourth in the table after racing out of the blocks in February.
Michael Smith retains the best chance of closing the gap to the top four, and ‘Bully Boy’ will hope to make an impact against this year’s perennial Premier League struggler Peter Wright in Aberdeen.
