Darts star Dimitri Van den Bergh reportedly left his rivals stunned at the Players Championship at the start of the week after pulling out of the tournament just four minutes before he was due to face Jose de Sousa. The two players were scheduled to go head-to-head in the first round at the Autotron in the Netherlands.

Van den Bergh is one of the best darts players in the world and is currently ranked at No. 20 on the sport’s order of merit after netting himself nearly £400,000 in prize money over the last couple of years. But he was forced to pull out of his showdown with De Sousa in the Players Championship 13 after becoming unwell following his warm-up. He was also absent from the Players Championship 14 event the following day.

According to Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws, the 30-year-old had been smiling and relaxed backstage. But he suddenly packed up his belongings and left the venue. And his actions are said to have stunned other players.

Sources close to the player later revealed that Van den Bergh had been in good spirits but then made a late call to withdraw after he began feeling ill.

And his fiancee Evi explained on Facebook: “An explanation will follow when the time is right. Dimitri wouldn’t do this lightly. In 10 years as a professional, he’s never pulled out of a match like this. What had to be done, was done. There’s no need for justification - but when the time is right, there will be communication.”

Van den Bergh ended last year with a 4-0 defeat to Callan Rydz at the World Darts Championship. And in January, he revealed he had been playing through the pain barrier for a year-and-a-half after injuring himself while moving house.

The star was forced to undergo physiotherapy and shockwave therapy after hurting his wrist when he was carrying a coffee table.

And he told Het Nieuwsblad: “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.

“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.”