Michael Smith is getting multiple pain injections for his ankle, wrist, and possibly his shoulder as he tries to get ready for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship. The 35-year-old player is hoping these treatments will help him balance properly and play without pain.
According to The Sun, Smith was happy about getting the treatment, especially after his poor performance at Minehead. He said he was waiting for the clinic to call him in for the injections, adding that he needs them for his ankle, wrist, and maybe his shoulder before the World Championship.
This isn’t just about minor pain. The real problem is excessive bone growth around his ankle and chronic arthritis. Smith recently visited a specialist who confirmed he has arthritis, but the X-rays showed something worse than expected.
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The bone growth discovery raises serious concerns about his future
Smith explained what the specialist told him. The doctor was worried whether Smith had ever broken his ankle because of the excessive extra bone growing around it. That kind of bone growth is terrible for any athlete, especially for someone who needs perfect stability to throw darts accurately.
The ankle isn’t his only issue. Smith also has arthritis in his wrist from breaking both wrists when he was 19 years old. These combined problems have clearly hurt his career over the past few years.
Smith is currently ranked 29th in the world. This is hard to accept for someone who was once the world number one and dominated the sport in 2023. He won the World Championship that year with a famous nine-dart finish in the final.
His struggles come as Luke Littler has become the youngest world number one in darts history. Smith needs to get back in top form to compete with the new generation of players. Smith’s road to recovery has drawn great attention from fans, much like the news of Charlie Puth preparing for his Super Bowl performance.
Smith recently showed he still has talent at the Grand Slam of Darts, where he reached the quarter-finals before losing to Luke Humphries. He’s now preparing to face women’s World Matchplay champion Lisa Ashton in the first round at Alexandra Palace. Smith joked about his walk-on after the treatment, saying he should be skipping down but admitting he didn’t skip as a kid and definitely won’t now. While Smith focuses on his recovery, other sports stars like Travis Kelce discussing his relationship with Taylor show how athletes balance personal and professional lives.
Published: Dec 7, 2025 03:00 pm