‘Had to be done’ – Luke Littler needed operation as a child to potentially save darts career before it began

Luke Littler has revealed he needed an operation as a four-year-old to help fix his bad eyesight.

The world’s no.1 darts player was born with Strabismus – a condition where a person’s two eyes do not look at the same place at the same time.

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His parents, Anthony and Lisa, consulted with a doctor before having surgery in his hometown of Warrington.

“I think it’s called Bog Eye – when you’ve got one normal eye,” Littler said as quoted by The Sun. “I think that’s the last time I was in that hospital, when I was four or five. Obviously got it sorted.

“I don’t have any memories of it now. But obviously it had to be done. And it got done.

“My mum and dad wanted that sorted. When I was younger, I didn’t really care. But now you look at it, obviously it was a good thing to get done.

“Your eyes are really important. There are pictures that me and my family put online (from that time).

“I was very tired at the time, obviously resting. But yeah, now we’re all good.

“It’s my hometown hospital. They do an unbelievable job down there so I think it’s really important to go and support them when I can.”

What is Strabismus?

Strabismus is a common condition which affects one in 20 children in the UK and the operation takes less than an hour under general anaesthetic.

The eye is held open using an instrument called a lid speculum before the surgeon detaches part of the muscle connected to the eye and moves it into a new position.

After that, the muscles are fixed in their new new position with dissolvable stitches. Those are hidden behind the eye so they cannot be seen afterwards.

Patients then wear a pad over the eye for a short period.

Painkillers are recommended as there is usually soreness for a few days.

England women’s goalkeeper Hannah Hampton also had Strabismus as a child.

Luke-ing good

The decision to operate might have potentially rescued Littler’s darts career before it even began.

Littler’s career is still in its infancy but he’s already reached incredible heights having won last year’s PDC World Darts Championship before his 18th birthday, smashing the record of being the youngest player to ever win the tournament.

He’s enjoyed a magical 2025 by winning the UK Open in March, retained his Belgian Darts Open title and in July he won the World Matchplay.

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The success for Littler continued with back-to-back World Series titles in Australia and New Zealand, a triumph in the Flanders Darts Trophy before achieving glory in the World Grand Prix and Players Championship.

And if that wasn’t enough, Littler won the Grand Slam of Darts in November, usurping Luke Humphries as the no.1 ranked darts player in the world in the process.

Littler is looking to solidify his status as the world’s best and retain his World Championship title at Alexandra Palace having sealed his place in the last 16 of the tournament.

He resumes his campaign against Austria’s Mensur Suljovic on Saturday night and talkSPORT will be bang across that and all the other big news from Ally Pally.