Former world darts champion and Sky Sports pundit Mark Webster has been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer.
Webster, who won world championship glory on the British Darts Organization (BDO) circuit in 2008, has not worked at a Sky Sports darts event since February and revealed why in an extensive interview on Darts World’s YouTube channel this week.
Ms Webster, who is Welsh, was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer called hairy cell leukemia in January and has not worked since starting chemotherapy in February.
Webster and Wayne Mardle are two of Sky Sports’ most prominent darts pundits
“Leukemia sounds bad, but…the prognosis is good, and 95 percent of cases are successful. At some point, you’ll go into some kind of remission, but the current recovery isn’t going to be as planned given the speed,” Webster explained.
“My white blood cell count hasn’t recovered yet, so I can’t go back to work because my immune system isn’t very good at the moment.
“It’s not the worst-case scenario, but it’s a little frustrating for me.
“I can work with people, but only in a sensible environment. It’s really frustrating. I’m used to being busy, so day-to-day things are a bit frustrating. The last time I worked was in the Premier League, on February 5, at Newcastle. So, yeah,[I’m]just managing it.”
Webster won the BDO World Darts Championship in 2007.
“I have to trust the people who are taking care of me. They are really good people. I don’t necessarily get the answers I want when I go, but I have to trust them.”
“A few weeks ago I was a little excited about the possibility of coming to Brighton and working, but my blood counts were too low.”
Webster added that he is hopeful that he will be able to return to work soon. “I personally feel good and want to go back to work, but they don’t like the environment I work in.
“At the moment I’m just doing what I’m told and being patient. It’s frustrating because I like to be busy, but I hope it won’t be too long.”
