MICHAEL SMITH is sharing a physio with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden in a bid to get back into the darting big time.

The 2023 Darts World Champion revealed last month that he is suffering crippling arthritis pain in his wrists, after breaking both in a freak accident as a kid.

Rex

Michael Smith has revealed he is suffering from a new injury problem[/caption]

Getty

The darts star is using Erling Haaland’s physio to regain his fitness[/caption]

Now Smith, 34, has revealed that he also sustained a shoulder injury on Christmas Day in another bizarre incident.

Man United fan Bully Boy has turned to Man City’s Performance Therapist Ben Thompson to work on his injuries just hours after he helps the likes of Etihad heroes Haaland and Foden.

With his top level of support, Smith has vowed to battle back starting at the UK Open in Minehead tomorrow.

He said: “I’ve had cortisone injections in my wrist three weeks ago. My hand is fine at the minute.

“It was a bit sore on the joint. First of all I threw a dart and it missed the board at home and hit the mural which I’ve just painted in my games room, so that was fun.

“Right now it’s fine. For the last week and a half I’ve been able to practice for four hours a day, which I’ve not been able to do for the last 12 weeks.

“I’ve had the arthritis for years. The worst thing has been going to Minehead because it’s so cold there.

“So many times I’ve said online that the cold affects me and everyone says it’s the same for all the players. It’s not really for me because it gets to my wrist.

BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS

“I’ve got one of the best hand people in the country with me, so it’s helping me.

“I’ve got an issue with my right shoulder, that was my own fault.

“I’ve done the AC joint in my shoulder. I did that on Christmas Day. I bought the kids two scooters. I thought I’d race one of them. I went over what I thought was a puddle, it was actually a pothole.

“I’ve hit that at 22mph, straight over the handlebars and hit my shoulder into the floor. I couldn’t pick my arm up for seven weeks. I also had a big cut.

“Even now I’ve still got a bit of bone sticking out in my shoulder.

“I’ve got Man City physio Ben Thompson working with me. “My wife Dagmara met Ben at the Manchester Premier League a while back.

“It’s mad that he’ll come to me after doing Haaland’s legs or Foden’s and then be working on my back and shoulders!

“Ben who works with me says it’s more common in rugby, it’s the joint between your collarbone and shoulder. It’s called the AC for short (Acromioclavicular). That’s moved and sticks out. I’m told that will never go away now.”

Smith was the biggest darting name on the planet just two years ago after hitting the perfect leg in the 2023 World Final against Michael van Gerwen.

But after a shock first hurdle exit at this year’s Worlds he was then left out of the Premier League and then revealed his arthritis woes.

However he has never worried his career was over, adding: “I’ve never feared anything. The pain isn’t great but there’s nothing that strong painkillers can’t help me get through it.

“Obviously I was going to get arthritis after breaking my wrists as a kid.

“The throw is the same, there’s not much I can change. It’s just up and down. Everything is the same, it’s just my head now.

“Now it’s down to my own confidence. The last four ProTours weren’t the greatest. But I’m still averaging 95 or 96, it’s just that winning line now. Just give me one win and I’ll be fine.

“I’ve been playing online a lot with the kids. It’s not the same as playing professionals but I’m averaging a hundred, it’s coming back slowly.

“I’m not going to get into the Premier League stuff, so much has already been said online. I’ve kept quiet about it.

“The plan is to work harder this year. I’ve turned down almost every exhibition. The plan is to do 100 per cent PDC.

“I think I got left out of the Premier League in 2021. I made the World Final that year. It’s just the kick up the a*** I needed. I didn’t get picked, I’ve just got to work harder.”

PREMIER LEAGUE chief executive Richard Masters has issued an update on Manchester City’s 130 Financial Fair Play charges.

City were hit with 115 charges over alleged breaches of FFP rules last February.

Getty

Richard Masters has issued an update on Man City’s charges[/caption]

That number rose to 130 later in the year following an administration issue.

The reigning Prem champions vehemently denied the charges in a hearing which took place between September and December and a verdict is now imminent.

Pep Guardiola expects to learn of the club’s fate next month.

The Spaniard has also insisted that he will speak out on the situation when the process is over.

Prem chief Masters gave a brief update on the process on Thursday.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “A points deduction would be the most likely outcome should the club be found guilty.

“As for the quantum of points deduction, if Everton were initially given a 10 points deduction for going around about £10/12 million over the limits in one particular season, I think, in order to set an example to the rest of football, it’s got to act as a deterrent.“

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes a relegation-inducing points deduction would be the most likely outcome.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

He said: “We’ll probably be looking at somewhere in the region of 60 to 100 points, which would effectively guarantee relegation out of the Premier League and into the lower tiers of football in the EFL.”

Man City recently won a legal battle with the Premier League over “unlawful” financial rules.

The bombshell verdict could now trigger a series of compensation claims from clubs and plunge the competition into crisis.

MARRIED At First Sight bride Polly Sellman has sparked romance rumours with her show rival Hannah Norburn’s groom, Stephen Nolson.

Neither Polly nor Stephen appeared in Monday night’s reunion episode, but they remain close pals a year on from their series.

Instagram

Stephen Nolson and Polly Sellman didn’t attend the latest MAFS reunion[/caption]

Channel 4

Stephen and bride Hannah Norburn no longer speak[/caption]

Channel 4

Polly has had some flirty banter with Stephen on social media[/caption]

This week they’ve shared some flirty banter on social media that suggests the pair have a romantic spark.

When Stephen shared a picture of him modelling clothing by fashion brand Jackd N Juicy, Polly commented, “Slutty” with a fire emoji.

She then said she called him “Juicy Nolson” to her friends.

Stephen appeared to mock recent criticism from his ex, joking “I’m the devil apparently”.

Polly had some kind words for him though, replying: “always my twist, never the devil [heart emoji]”.

During Monday’s reunion, Polly’s ex Adam Nightingale continued his flirty pursuit of Amy Kenyon, admitting he fancied her and joking about having a baby.

During last year’s series Polly and Adam had a strained relationship, with barber Adam admitting he didn’t fancy his bride and that his usual type was a petite brunette.

They had an explosive clash at the last reunion which ended with Polly soaking him with red wine.

Meanwhile, Hannah has grown close to Paul Liba, who also attended the reunion with his ex Tasha Jay.

After the latest get together, Hannah told her Instagram followers that she never wants to speak to Stephen again.

The pair went their separate ways six weeks into last year’s experiment.

There were claims of infidelity levelled at both of them on the show before they finally reached a point in a commitment ceremony where enough was enough.

When asked last night by a fan on Instagram if the pair had spoken since last year’s explosive reunion episode, Hannah had an emphatic answer.

She wrote: “No and I never will.

“The way that man treated me. Spoke to my face & behind my back was something I’ve never experienced before and the things I’ve heard about him since make me realise I dodged a bullet big time.

“He wasted the whole experience not just for himself but also for me through his stubbornness & self-entitlement and I don’t hold any respect at all for him.”

She then criticised him for not defending her during the ill-tempered first reunion show that saw her clash with a number of other brides.

“The last time I saw him was at the reunion when he sat next to me and watched me get ganged up on without a single word,” said Hannah.

“He even leaned out of the way to let one girl shout at me at one point.””

Aside from her wedding day and two days of their honeymoon, she called the experience a “misery”.

Channel 4

She married Adam Nightingale on the show[/caption]

Instagram

Adam has the hots for friend Amy kenyon[/caption]

TOURIST Stephen Termini has revealed he is seeking compensation from the State for the injuries he suffered.

Termini, 57, also told the Irish Sun that the three youths who battered him in an unprovoked attack had “demons” inside.

Paul Sharp

Collect through journalist

The cases of those involved in the vicious assault on him concluded this week.

The 17-year-old who instigated the shocking incident on one of Dublin’s busiest streets bawled crying as he was sent down for 20 months’ detention.

The teenager, who was 16 at the time, kicked Termini four times on the night of July 19, 2023.

His two accomplices, who were handed down 27 and 32 months custodial sentences, then took over in the attack.

Termini, from Buffalo in New York, had to undergo emergency surgery to save his eyesight before spending two weeks in intensive care but still lives with life-altering injuries, permanently using a walking stick.

Although he has repeatedly said he forgives his three attackers, he reckons it will come back to bite them some day.

Termini told the Irish Sun: “It’ll affect them in some way, somehow, sometime in their life.

“The same type of thing is gonna happen to them and they’re gonna get assaulted and they’re gonna think, ‘Oh s***, this must have been the way that guy felt that we did it to him.’

“I think that life will balance itself out without any helping hand from me. You know, karma is a b***h.”

He added: “They left me there bleeding on the side of the road and all scattered and left me dead.

‘DEMONS INSIDE’

“After they kicked me in the head over and over and over. It seems like they had demons inside trying to kill me.

“I wish the kids would get into some kind of counselling program to talk about why they felt so much hate towards me. I didn’t do nothing to nobody.”

Termini may be entitled to money from the State’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and is meeting a solicitor over the matter.

He has been left with a US medical bill of €70,000 after returning home in 2023 as he needed metal rods inserted in his back following a seizure due to a further bleed on the brain.

LOSS OF EARNINGS

He also lost up to €30,000 in employment earnings as he could not work as a result.

But he managed to scrape together €10,000 for his trip to Ireland, where he arrived earlier this month.

He had hoped to get residency to live out his days in Newport in Co Mayo, where his great-grandmother Anne Donnelly was from before she emigrated to the US.

But the dream may be short lived as it is costing him over €750 a week in expenses for a B&B, food and travel.

‘CHANCE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN’

But his fate now depends on how the meeting goes.

He told us: “They say my visa lasts three months here. I’m trying to only eat twice a day, small and cheap things in Tesco just to make the €10,000 stretch for me.

“The solicitor is mostly on the case for the victim’s scheme into financial assistance, filing that case.

“So if it looks promising, if there is a chance to make this happen, I would stay here and continue on my search to find a place to live. Or just order a tent off of Amazon.

“Then the next thing would be to get onto a permanent visa and work.”

Paul Sharp

STATE funding for League of Ireland academies is not imminent – despite its inclusion in the Programme for Government.

On Thursday, core funding of €31.3m for national governing bodies, local sports partnerships and other funded bodies was announced for 2024.

Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

That represents an increase of €1.6m on 2024, as part of a 76 percent increase over the past seven years with Ireland playing catch-up on most European countries when it comes to investing in sport.

One of the sports policies included in the programme for government was to ‘explore new mechanisms for the creation of football academies with the FAI and League of Ireland’.

But, despite the pressing need given the ramifications of players no longer being able to go to Britain until they are 18 as a consequence of Brexit, it seems it is not being viewed as a pressing matter.

Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture & Sport Patrick O’Donovan said: “The Programme for Government is a five-year document, you’ll probably appreciate over the last five weeks I have been preoccupied with other things.

“There’s an awful lot of stuff there for sport, there’s a lot for arts and communications and everything else as well.

“It’s better to ask in a year, or definitely after six months, to see how we are getting on with regard to progress on each of these individual headings, rather than just a month in.”

When it was suggested that people in academies might be dispirited by an apparent lack of urgency O’Donovan – who said he met with the FAI last week – countered: “They shouldn’t be.

“The Programme for Government is a five-year programme, and I don’t think, to be quite honest with it, anybody would expect implementation of the Programme for Government in six weeks.” 

Junior Minister Charlie McConalogue – whose Fianna Fáil party proposed to ‘create a Next Generation Fund to support soccer academies’ in its manifesto – added: “That’s something I will be engaging closely with the FAI on.

“Any spending we’re doing, we want it to see it make a significant impact and make a real contribution.

“Obviously it was something that was in my own party’s manifesto and is now in the Programme for Government.

“And it’s something I intend to step up in terms of scoping out how best we can – working with Minister O’Donovan – see that progress and how best we can bring public money to the table that will deliver a real return in terms of enhanced quality and young people coming through the Academy system.”

One Piece is often celebrated to be one of the best Shonen series in existence while Black Clover stands shyly outside the frame. But popularity alone isn’t the game, and Black Clover is more developed in fields that One Piece has ignored for a bit too long. Sure, donning pink feathers and pink glasses and […]

This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire

Making it big in Hollywood isn’t easy, just ask Katey Sagal. Before Sons of Anarchy put her back in the spotlight, she’d already built a solid career in music and acting. Most people remember her as Peg Bundy in Married… with Children or the tough-as-nails Gemma Morrow, but her memoir, Grace Notes, spills the tea […]

This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire

Controversial Ghanaian relationship coach, Counsellor George Lutterodt, has sparked debate with a shocking claim that men whose wives form close bonds with their mothers are doomed. Speaking on The Toast Show monitored by MyNewsGh with hosts Achawa Sackey, Abena Moet, and others, Lutterodt boldly declared, “If you see a wife who has befriended the husband’s […]

The post If your wife befriends your mother, you are finished – Counsellor Lutterodt warns men appeared first on MyNewsGh.

In a damning letter sent to the state Department of Health, the New York Health Plan Association and other groups say that Hochul’s move to consolidate hundreds of middlemen in the CDPAP, is way behind schedule.

Should the Jets draft Jaxson Dart 7th overall in this year’s NFL Draft? Ryan and Frankie debate on today’s episode of Gang’s All Here.Watch the full discussion here: https://youtu.be/DOQMAV1zzSI