MICHAEL SMITH has opened up on his battle with arthritis.
The former darts world champion, 34, has been struggling with the condition in his throwing hand.
Having won the World Darts Championship in 2023 he has since fallen down the PDC Order of Merit, while also losing his place in this year’s Premier League.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Bully Boy opened up on his condition.
He said: “I’ve had it for a few years now. It was always when it was winter so I thought it was just the cold affecting it.
“But it just keeps getting worse and worse. My wrist will start swelling up and the constant pain where I can’t bend it so it is getting a bit difficult.”
Having gone into the tournament as second seed, Smith was upset by Kevin Doets in the second round of this year’s World Darts Championship.
Asked if the pain is what affects him so much, he replied: “Yeah I think so because when I went to see the specialist yesterday he said I’m restricted a bit with my right wrist so it wasn’t bending as much as it should.
“So I’ve got an MRI scan tomorrow and then we can from there, see how it is.”
Quizzed if he ever suspected that his problems stemmed from arthritis, he said: “It was there because I broke both my wrists when I was 19 so it was going to catch up with me eventually so I think it has now.”
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Smith went on to lift the lid on how his condition has affected his darts routines.
On how it has impacted how much he can practise, he said: “It doesn’t affect the amount of practise, I’ve just got to split up.
“I normally I would do four or five hours straight with no stops, now I’ve got to do maybe 20 minutes with a five minute stop, half an hour with a 10 minute stop.
“But it should be fine, it’s just a lot of painkillers but hopefully the medical team now can figure it out… if it’s PRP (platelet rich plasma) injections or maybe cortisone, I don’t know.”
Smith has been supported by wife Dagmara and their two sons.
On how his family have helped him cope with his arthritis, in addition to a separate shoulder problem, Smith admitted: “The shoulder issue is my fault so they’ve been great with that.
“Since Christmas Day I’ve not been able to function with my shoulder properly, I’ve got a Grade Two AC (acromioclavicular) joint in my shoulder that’s popping out.
“It’s been hard but it’s also been good with the family around me helping me out along the way.”
CRISTIANO RONALDO was jokingly mocked by MMA star Michael ‘Venom’ Page for backing his UFC Saudi Arabia opponent.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was cageside for MVP’s Saudi showdown with new fan favourite Shara Magomedov on Saturday night.
Ronaldo had enjoyed a warm embrace with Magomedov at Al-Nassr‘s training ground, where he signed a shirt and posed for snaps with the one-eyed fighter, earlier in the week.
And he was just a few feet away from the Dagestani as he suffered a decision defeat to avid Manchester United fan Page, who had a message for him after the fight.
In his post-fight press conference, the 37-year-old said: “I actually didn’t see him. But he was definitely in the wrong corner.
“But he needs to come back to me, the Man Utd supporter by the way. Next time he might make a better decision.”
Page even had some words for new Red Devils gaffer Ruben Amorim, whose troops endured yet another defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace last Sunday.
The London Shootfighters standout said: “It’s difficult [for Amorim]. You see Ronaldo talks about it himself.
“He even spoke briefly about [being] in charge of the club he’d know exactly where he would make new decisions.
“I think he’s talking about a situation above the manager’s head.
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“Right now, all he can really do is try to make the team that he’s got in front of him work as much as he can.
“But also, I’m gonna give him until the next transfer window to find new players and bring them in and see if he can recreate the team in his own image.
“You’ve got to give him that chance. But for right now, he just needs to make sure we don’t get relegated.”
Victory over Page saw him bounce from his defeat to Ian Garry at UFC 303 last July.
LOVE Island fans have hit out at Elma after she became embroiled in a bitter feud with Ekin-Su last night.
The drama kicked off following a racy strip tease during the Heart Rate Challenge.
EKin-Su was keen to win the task for the girls and vowed to kiss all of the boys.
But Elma didn’t like the sound of her pal snogging her villa partner and put her foot down.
Ekin-Su agreed she wouldn’t kiss Sammy, but then forget her promise.
Dressed in a devil costume, she gave Sammy Root – who is partnered with Elma – a peck on the lips after a saucy lap dance.
But it was nothing compared to when EKin-Su passionately snogged Curtis Pritchard on the floor.
Back up on the terrace Elma asked Ekin-Su had she kissed Sammy, to which the former Love Island winner insisted “no”.
She was quickly reminded that she had, and admitted she did but it was only a peck.
The next day, Elma pulled Ekin-Su for a chat and told her she felt betrayed.
Close to tears, Ekin-Su apologised for going against her word and said she “blacked out” while in character as the red devil.
Fans didn’t like the way Elma spoke to Ekin-Su, with one writing: “Elma thinks she is on towie not love island ..she is not a very nice person…she gives bully vibes..loves an argument.”
A third said: “Elma love island is not for you girl, Why so possessive,
Sammy we know might likely still move mad before the show ends.”
Another said: “Guys to stop the whinging can we all collectively VOTE ELMA OUT” as one more chimed: “Elma needs to stop taking up space in this place.”
It comes days after Elma’s explosive clash with Scott Thomas.
Elma was left seething for her pal Tina and ranted about Scott.
However, last week Love Island fans turned on Ekin-Su after she chucked a drink over Curtis.
Sammy’s arrival came after Ronnie Vint ditched Elma to reunite with Harriett Blackmore.
He and Elma had past history, having already met on the Towie circuit.
After the kiss, Sammy shouted up to Elma “I didn’t kiss her back”.
While Elma remarked: “She didn’t kiss anyone else’s fella” .
Elma asked her fellow villa girl if she had indeed kissed Sammy.
To which Ekin-Su responded “whoops”, how it had been just a peck and said it wasn’t “that deep”.
Discussing further, Elma replied that it is deep and asked if Ekin was her friend or enemy.
Love Island All Stars continues on ITV2 and ITVX.
Здавалося б, така нехитра дія, як варіння яєць, не може приховувати будь-які секрети. Подробиці Однак це далеко не так: причина складності варіння яєць полягає в тому, що білку та жовтку потрібна різна температура. Щоб білок схопився, йому достатньо 82 градуси – за таких умов він не нагадуватиме на смак гуму. У свою чергу, жовтку […]
0 Згустки крові можуть бути неймовірно небезпечними і бути смертельними, якщо їх не лікувати швидко. Щоб врятувати своє життя або життя когось іншого, необхідно знати симптоми, щоб ви могли вжити заходів. Є кілька симптомів, які можуть вказувати на наявність тромбу. До них відносяться: Сильний головний біль Неврологічні симптоми-наприклад, непритомність і судоми Набряк ніг Червоні плями […]
A MUM has been trolled after creating a DIY bed for her teenager – but insisted it’s the perfect storage solution for her room.
When Becky Fairbairn’s daughter, Lexie, 14, showed her the viral hack on TikTok, she became intrigued.
The mum, 32, from Edinburgh, had been looking for a way to give her teen some more space – and this fit the bill perfectly.
Using two drawers from IKEA, with a mattress on top, the unique bed was complete.
But it’s gone viral on Facebook for the wrong reasons with people confused about its rather tall height.
Becky captioned the post, which has over 9,000 likes: “We did the IKEA bed hack for my daughter’s bedroom!
“She absolutely loves it, and the amount of space/storage is unreal now.”
Social media users flocked to the comments to share their reactions after seeing the final product, with many poking fun at how she gets up and down without any stairs.
“Needs a parachute to get out of bed”, one person joked.
Someone else added: “I’m so short lol I can just barely get on top of that dresser.”
“Does she also have a cherry picker so that she can get in?” asked a third.
Meanwhile, a fourth wrote: “At least she will get a good night’s sleep after she climbs down her beanstalk.”
Other people, however, were in favour of the space-saving hack.
One gushed: “So much hate on this post but I love the idea. If I wasn’t so attached to having my mattress on the floor, I’d probably do this too lmao.”
“I’m tall, I love it. And my cats would have a cool fort”, someone else insisted.
And another person cried: “That looks awesome.”
“I thought it was a great idea to incorporate more storage into her bedroom”, Becky later revealed.
“I spoke to a local tradesman as I wanted to make sure my measurements were correct for creating the frame to hold the units together.
“I also wanted to make sure I was buying the correct materials.
“He was able to provide his opinion on what structure he felt would support the mattress and ensure the drawers were held together by supports.
“It wasn’t ever a matter of cost, but more about giving her the bed she wanted.
“I’m very aware we could have purchased several styles of beds with storage, but this was her choice.”
Becky bought two IKEA Malm drawers for £79 each, along with two Kallax units, costing £30 each.
At B&Q, extra materials to create the support cost £60, bringing the total cost to £278.
While she hasn’t had any previous experience with a project like this, the savvy mum has always been rather creative.
In total, the project took seven days to complete. And Lexie is over the moon with her new bed.
Becky added: “She absolutely loves it.
“People seem most concerned about the gap in the middle, but the mattress is fully supported and won’t fall through.
“I’m a very easygoing person, and I get that people will both love and hate it – and that’s okay.
“My approach was to answer people’s questions who had genuine concerns, but it got to the stage where I started replying with humour.
“People enjoyed that more than the negative reactions coming in. “If you’re looking at creating a similar project, do your research and go for it.
“I knew my daughter was safe. She has never fallen out, and I was confident she wouldn’t start now.”
MILLIONS of drivers have been warned of a nationwide petrol and diesel shortage.
Unless 200,000 new lorry drivers are recruited, a repeat of the 2021 driver shortage could lead to fuel station chaos.
The Road Haulage Association warned ministers that the logistics industry faces “significant structural challenges”.
And reports suggest plans launched four years ago to tackle the trucker shortage have not been as successful as hoped.
The looming crisis could hit home and supermarket deliveries.
Supermarkets such as Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, and Sainsbury’s rely on a stable supply chain.
A report said: “2021 was a year of genuine crisis with an HGV driver shortage which saw empty shop shelves, delivery delays and supply chain disruption.
“We must avoid a repeat of this.”
Sally Gilson, policy manager at the RHA, said: “We need to keep these young drivers in the sector as we don’t want to see people get funded training, get their licence and then leave shortly after.
“We saw quite a number train up, stay for three to six months and then leave the sector.”
The shortage of lorry drivers is also threatening to derail government building plans.
A government spokeswoman said: “We understand the pressures facing the housebuilding industry, which is why we are making sure that they have the skilled workers they need to help us build 1.5 million homes and deliver our new towns.
“Alongside this, we are getting more HGV drivers onto our roads through our Skills Bootcamps, giving people the skills they need to start their career.”
FUEL duty was frozen for a 15th historic year in a massive win for drivers and The Sun’s Keep It Down campaign.
The Chancellor used Budget to stop petrol and diesel prices rising with inflation.
And in a huge boost for cash-strapped Brits, Rachel Reeves confirmed the temporary 5p cut will also remain in place.
Motorists have enjoyed frozen rates since 2011 thanks to our campaign with FairFuelUK to protect people at the pump.
If the duty had been allowed to rise in line with inflation since 2010, Britain’s drivers would now be paying 93.47p on a litre of fuel rather than the current 52.95p once VAT is included.
