Dimitri van den Bergh has opened up about enduring 18 months of agony after an injury he sustained during a house move. Prior to his clash with Gary Anderson in Friday's opener of the Winmau World Masters, which Van den Bergh won 3-1, the world No. 18 reflected on the hellish pain he's suffered behind the scenes. The UK Open titleholder underwent both physiotherapy and shockwave therapy to manage a nagging wrist issue that happened while lifting a coffee table.

Despite keeping quiet about it until now, the 30-year-old says he can now step onto the oche pain-free, as he told Het Nieuwsblad about the choice to keep his injury under wraps. Van den Bergh said: "I can start this year without feeling any pain. "We explicitly chose not to communicate anything about this for a year and a half. Questions were asked about it every now and then, but I always blocked them out. I want to be seen as someone who always does his best and there have been comments about that.".

The mishap occurred during his move from Merksem to Sint-Truiden, as the darts star spoke about the moment that led to his injury. He added: "We had to do that upside down (assembling the table), so with the top at the bottom. Okay, screwed everything together and then turned the table over again.". Van den Bergh then explained that he didn't distribute the weight while moving the table, so the full thing fell on his right hand, which couldn't handle the strain and cracked his wrist.

He said: "And we didn't choose the smartest way there, which meant that I had the full weight of the table on my right hand. I couldn't grab the table quickly enough with my left hand and then everything went out of balance, which my right hand couldn't handle and which caused a crack in my right wrist. "I couldn't throw my dart any further than the board my foot was against for a week, because of course it was my throwing hand. I tried to make the move, but there was so much pain going through my hand that it went into spasm, and I dropped my arrow on the ground at my feet.".

After seeking medical help, Van den Bergh learned he had developed a cyst from a torn ligament, leading to fluid build-up in the joint and obstructing his throw – something that had puzzled him until he visited a surgical specialist who recommended an MRI scan. "That man immediately understood what was wrong and told me about the cyst," he said, revealing the diagnosis. Rather than opting for surgery, which would have sidelined him for three months – a period too costly for a professional darts competitor – he chose alternative treatment. Surgery could have cost him entry into significant tournaments like the Grand Slam and the Players Championship Finals, and even the World Championship.

He said: "That simply wasn't an option, even if the cyst would have been completely removed immediately. We then started looking for alternatives, which resulted in a local injection. That burst the bubble of the cyst and then I was given cortisone. After a week of complete rest, it was much better and I started training for the World Championship. "There, everyone saw that things were going better than the months before. Not yet as they should be, but better. And I'll take that mindset with me into the new season.".