PETER WRIGHT has sent his support to Kim Huybrechts following the Belgian's absence from the Betway Premier League on Thursday night.
Huybrechts pulled out of Thursday's scheduled fixture with Wright at Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena to remain in Belgium and be with his terminally ill mother.
With Huybrechts already having been eliminated from the Premier League, Wright was awarded the two points from the game - but the world number three has sent his best wishes to his rival.
"All our thoughts are with Kim and his family," said Wright. "If any other player in the Premier League was in that situation they wouldn't be here either.
"Kim, and his brother Ronny, will be back playing darts soon because their mum will want them to go and play darts like they can. They're both fantastic players and they'll hopefully come back soon."
Wright still made an appearance on stage at the Motorpoint Arena, treating the sell-out crowd to his unique walk-on ahead of the Premier League night starting.
"You have a fantastic crowd in Cardiff, the atmosphere is amazing and I'm gutted that I'm not playing," he said.
"My form's been pretty good, I won a European Tour event at the weekend so I was looking forward to trying to win tonight but unfortunately I've got to get back on the practice board."