Gian van Veen excited to get ‘back to work’ in Berlin after surgery

Gian van Veen is looking forward to getting “back to work” when the Premier League heads to Berlin on Thursday night.

The Dutchman missed last week’s trip to Dublin after he needed surgery to remove kidney stones, and also sat out the European Tour tournament in Belgium.

Van Veen has been working on his recovery, admitting his energy levels were “still lower than I hoped”, but on Wednesday afternoon confirmed he was able to make it out to Germany.

“It feels good to say that I am in Berlin and I am planning to play tomorrow night,” World Championship runner-up Van Veen said on Instagram.

“Missing last week has left its mark on the standings. Currently sitting in 6th place.

“The road back is ongoing and I’m excited to be here again. Time to get back to work.”

Van Veen is set to face Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals.

Welshman Price had looked on course to take the nightly win in Dublin when he was 5-0 up against Luke Littler in the final, only for the world champion to mount a superb comeback to clinch a last-leg decider.

Littler has faced boos from the German crowd at a few tournaments, and had suggested he might skip events in the country as a result of the hostile reception.

The 19-year-old sits second in the Premier League table, three points behind Jonny Clayton, and opens against Stephen Bunting at the Uber Arena.

“With the start Jonny had and the start I have had, obviously it is good to see I have closed the gap to Jonny in second spot,” Littler said. “I am right behind him now, so we will go and chase him.”

Defending Premier League champion Luke Humphries will look to take momentum from his win in Belgium when he faces Dutchman Michael van Gerwen.

“When you are not winning as much, it becomes harder and you feel the nerves, but hopefully I am going to keep pushing now,” said the world number two, who is fourth in the table.

The other quarter-final sees Clayton take on Josh Rock, who remains winless on his tournament debut.