Monday 19 November 2012 21:51, UK
Ted Hankey will be away from darts for the foreseeable future after it was revealed that he suffered a mini-stroke during his Grand Slam of Darts defeat last week.
Stevenson says Hankey was just finding his feet in the tournament after a 5-0 thumping in the opener, as he followed it up with a fine win over Steve Beaton. That made the performance against Van Gerwen all the more puzzling. "He was starting to play well," added Stevenson. "He got beat by Thornton but he had chances to be four-nil up there and he then won against Beaton. "Ted's a quality player. What Van Gerwen's done this week, he could have beaten Ted without what happened but we'll never know." Hankey will miss the 2013 PDC World Darts Championship as he continues his recuperation, with the qualifiers set to begin next Monday.
