JELLE KLAASEN has revealed that he may require wrist surgery to cure his ongoing battles with tendonitis.
The Dutch star has struggled since the end of 2016 with his wrist, and had a further two anti-inflammatory injections into his throwing arm on Monday ahead of the Premier League's visit to Rotterdam Ahoy.
Klaasen is aiming to boost his hopes of avoiding Premier League elimination with a win against James Wade in Rotterdam on Thursday, having picked up just one point from his last two matches despite having been ahead in both contests.
"I know what I can do and I feel perfect, but I've got the tendonitis in my wrist," said Klaasen, pictured in Rotterdam on Wednesday.
"The commentators say I can't finish games and it's difficult to hear because I know what the problem is and I know it's about my injury and not that I get nervous at the end.
"I had two more anti-inflammatory injections in my wrist this week, and if it's not better in the next two months I need surgery.
"It's all about how long I can play without the pain; normally about five or six legs into the game I feel it hurting even more and then my level drops. I hope I can have a good day [in Rotterdam] and get to seven legs.
"It's frustrating. I love the Premier League but it's frustrating if you can't play your own level because your wrist is hurting, I know what's wrong with my throw and it's not my form."
Klaasen will be competing on the Premier League stage in his home country for the first time on Thursday, with a 10,000-strong crowd set to cheer on the former Lakeside Champion and his compatriots Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld.
"It's the biggest crowd I've played in front of and it's going to be awesome," said Klaasen. "I heard from Raymond that it was his best experience ever last year and even Michael was a little bit nervous.
"I just want to enjoy it. The Premier League this far isn't how I imagined it would be but I feel good and it's nice to play in Holland."
Betway Premier League
Night Seven - Thursday March 16
Rotterdam Ahoy
James Wade v Jelle Klaasen
Peter Wright v Dave Chisnall
Raymond van Barneveld v Gary Anderson
Kim Huybrechts v Adrian Lewis
Phil Taylor v Michael van Gerwen
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.nl