Nick Kenny has opened up about the bizarre injury he suffered during World Cup celebrations back in 2019, revealing that a dance floor mishap left him with a broken foot. The Welshman, who recently represented his country alongside Jonny Clayton at the World Cup of Darts, recalled the incident on the Tops and Tales podcast, explaining how a stress fracture turned into a full break during the post-tournament festivities.
Kenny was competing in the BDO national team event in Romania, battling through severe pain from a stress fracture. He reached the semi-finals of the singles competition, where he faced Australian Peter Machin. Despite playing well all day, the pain became overwhelming. “I’ve played awesome all day and I'm thinking I should win this now. But my foot's killing. I am crying on the oche in tears. I couldn’t give up,” Kenny said. He lost that match 6-3, but Wales went on to win the team title, beating Hong Kong in the final.
After the team victory, Kenny initially went to bed, but his teammates had other plans. “Jim Williams has come into my room with Neil Duff. ‘Come on, Nick, get up and come to the gala.’ So we’ve gone down and had a few drinks. I have forgotten about my foot,” he explained. The celebration took a nasty turn when he was persuaded to dance. “Got me up to dance and I jumped up and down and it popped. I could feel the ache through the bones. So I broke my foot, basically. Stress fracture.”
Despite the injury, Kenny described that week as “probably the best week of my life.” He spent six weeks in a boot and was pushed around in a wheelchair by Deta Hedman. Seven years later, Kenny stepped in for Gerwyn Price at the World Cup of Darts, partnering Jonny Clayton. The Welsh duo reached the quarter-finals, where they suffered a painful 8-7 loss to England, with Kenny missing a match dart at a crucial moment.
Now ranked 64th in the world, Kenny is fighting to keep his Tour Card, which he secured in 2023. With the Players Championship Finals and PDC World Darts Championship on the horizon, the Newport thrower faces a crucial couple of months to secure his place on the tour.