Mark Webster has spoken candidly about his battle with a rare form of leukaemia and his return to punditry, admitting he was 'actually quite positive' after his diagnosis. The former world champion, who has been absent from TV screens covering events including Premier League Darts, is now back in work and gave an update to Online Darts.
Webster described the relief of returning to the cameras: 'Yeah, it was just nice to have some normality back. In the build-up, people had been really nice to me and it made me feel positive about coming back. I'd been off for a bit too long, so it was nice just to slide back in last week. It was a good week as well.' He admitted to feeling 'itchy' to get back, saying: 'There was a lot of frustration and an itchiness to get back. I was quite content for the first six or seven weeks, but then I was ready to come back and I wasn't getting the answer I wanted.'
Webster revealed he had been diagnosed after feeling unwell and visiting doctors. 'When I walked out of there, I was actually quite positive in terms of what would happen. Obviously, the immediate negative was the diagnosis and knowing I was going to be off work. But I was very determined because I liked what I heard. The prognosis was good.' His treatment involved injections rather than traditional chemotherapy: 'Mine was a different course of treatment. It was just a couple of injections every day. There was a little bit of nausea, but I never at any point thought I was actually going to be sick.' He added: 'My bone marrow took a while to respond, but it is responding now, which is why I'm back.'
The Welshman also spoke about the overwhelming public support, including a gift from Wayne Mardle addressed to 'The 2008 world champion.' 'When I opened it, the woman in the house said, “What's that?” and I said, “Gee, I don't know what that's off.” It was just full of goodies. Fair play to him—I loved it. My kids loved it as well.' Webster also touched on the Premier League Darts format, saying: 'The PDC will look at it. They never sit still, and they've got time to assess it now.' On Michael van Gerwen's struggles, Webster commented: 'He may never fully rediscover the Michael van Gerwen of old. I think he's quite relaxed about that. Don't get me wrong, he's still hungry. He still hates losing. But I think he's honest enough with himself to know he's not the best player in the world anymore.'