Gary Anderson suffers early Winmau World Masters elimination as unusual cause of Ally Pally injury revealed

Gary Anderson has been eliminated from the Winmau World Masters on his return to big stage action - as he revealed a bizarre injury he suffered.

It was the first time that the The Flying Scotsman was was back in TV action after losing at the first hurdle during the World Championships, suffering defeat to Jeffrey De Graaf. He would have hoped for better in his comeback against Dimitri Van den Bergh, losing 3-1 to the Belgian.

An injury did not help Anderson in his quest of more glory on the Ally Pally stage. It’s been claimed that the two-time champion suffered a shoulder injury chopping down trees at work on his fishing lakes and struggled to throw properly, contributing to an early exit.

Elsewhere in the Scottish contingent in Milton Keynes, double world champion Peter Wright came from behind to beat Kevin Doets 3-2. Cameron Menzies also bounced back from his own World Championship heartbreak by getting past Dave Chisnall to move into the next round. William Borland, from East Calder, pushed Stephen Bunting all the way but was eventually edged out by the in-form Bullet.

Menzies hopes he can make a name for himself on the big stages after a morale-boosting win: “My game on the floor is good. Maybe on the TV stage I try too hard. That’s different up there. That’s where the big boys turn up. That’s where the world champions turn up. That’s where the guys who are majors turn up.

“It’s a different kettle of fish playing in front of a crowd. When you’re up there on the big stage. I’ve got a long way to go. I’m happy to win. I’m positive to win. I’ve done my best to get the win and I’m ecstatic to win, but I feel like there’s more in me than I’ve proved and I’m hoping I will one day prove it.

“I don’t think it was a good game. I’m obviously ecstatic to win. Dave wasn’t the Dave we know, I feel it was scrappy. But you get those scrappy games. I’m trying to show myself on TV stage this year that I’m actually better. My TV performances aren’t good enough. I didn’t play good, but I’ll take the victory. Dave’s a very good guy, great dart player, great career. I feel a bit gutted because I didn’t play the way I can, but it’s all about the wins. It’s not a sport about how you play. it’s about the victories and I’ll take that.”