Brit darts star told to ‘rest or die’ after serious ilness | Other | Sport

Darts ace Matt Clark has disclosed that he was warned to ‘rest or die’ after being hospitalised with a life-threatening blood clot. The 57-year-old from Dartford was compelled to withdraw from the World Seniors Tour after being informed his life was at risk if he didn’t alter his daily routine. Clark, who held a PDC Tour Card between 2003 and 2017, and again from 2019 to 2022, reached the last 32 in the World Championships in 2006, only to be defeated by Phil Taylor.

After losing his Tour Card, ‘Superman’ joined the WDF. Discussing his health scare, Clark revealed: “Midway through the seniors tour, I got a life-threatening blood clot in a not very pleasant place. When you are literally sat in front of a doctor and they say, ‘If you do anything and that moves, you’re dead’, it kind of gives you a new perspective on life. They said, ‘You cannot go to work. If we don’t get that under control, you’re either going to have a brain haemorrhage or a heart attack.’ It’s as simple as that.”

In an interview with the Tungsten Tales podcast, Clark continued to recount his struggle. “The TV events that I qualified for, for the seniors tour, I was getting hospital treatment for,” he added. “I kept it quiet because you can’t use that to make excuses. It was palmed off that I had a bad leg at the time. We’ll go with that.

“The start of the WDF season I was under hospital guidance and I wasn’t allowed to travel or fly. So I actually only started playing when I was discharged from hospital in February this year. I’ve still got issues I’m dealing with but that’s just a matter of time. Unfortunately, my back has gone now. It’s slightly wonky but I’ll deal with that. My back brace is working a treat.”

Remarkably, Clark has made his comeback at the WDF World Championship as the No. 7 seed and will face Belgium’s Francois Schweyen in the last 16. Clark claimed victory at the 1999 Canadian Open and reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 World Matchplay in his strongest performance at a PDC major tournament.

‘Superman’ was defeated 16-12 by James Wade, who subsequently reached the final, losing to ‘The Power’ in the Blackpool showdown.