WORLD No 2 Peter Wright has announced he will compete in the William Hill World Darts Championship after last month’s health scare.
Wright was rushed to hospital on November 30 and scans later confirmed the 47-year-old Livingston-born player has three gallstones.
The flamboyant thrower, who is known as ‘Snakebite’ and is one of the most recognisable players due to his Mohican hairstyle, had to cancel several planned exhibition appearances but confirmed he is fit enough to take on Diogo Portela today.
“I’ll be playing on Thursday and I can’t wait to get back to Ally Pally,” the UK Open champion told pdc.tv. “I’m feeling totally fine in many ways, and I’m rested.
“I’m still waiting to hear back from the doctors following my scan and it might be that I need some further treatment in the next few weeks, but I’ve done everything I can to recover so far.
“I’ve been eating really healthily, getting lots of rest, taking the medication and doing all the right things, and it’s all looking good.
“I’ve lost almost two stones in weight and I’m feeling okay for that, and I’ll keep doing the right things during the tournament until I hear what the doctors have planned.”
Wright defeated Phil Taylor to win the German Darts Masters in October – his first World Series of Darts title.
He will face 29-year-old Brazilian Portela in the first round of the World Championship. Wright was a losing semi-finalist last year.
He added: “There was a chance I would have pulled out of the World Championship.
“But it’s great that I can play against Diogo and I want to do my best to win this title now.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here