Gary Anderson admits a Phil Taylor return to the circuit would not surprise him

Gary Anderson has revealed he would not be surprised to see his great rival Phil Taylor make a comeback on the professional circuit.

Taylor won an astonishing 214 tournaments and 85 majors throughout a glittering career, before retiring from the game following his defeat to Rob Cross in the 2018 World Championship final.

Nevertheless, the 16-time world champion hinted at the possibility of a comeback when speaking to Sky Sports at the Target Darts Launch a fortnight ago, citing the technological advancements in the sport as an incentive to return.

In an interview with Live Darts, Anderson revealed he would welcome a return for 'The Power' and admitted he would not be surprised to see the 59-year-old come out of retirement.

"The day Phil retired, I knew he would be sick as a pig, he loves darts," said Anderson. "He is darts, that's what Phil is all about.

"He might have thought, 'I'm getting old, travelling a lot, the schedule is hectic', but he'll be sitting at home watching darts on the TV going, 'I can still beat him, him and him', and he'll be itching to get back.

"That's what Phil's about, darts, so I wouldn't be surprised if he comes back."

"What's Raymond (Van Barneveld) going to do? He's played darts for decades, has he got a new hobby or something? Has he taken up fishing or golf?

"I don't see how you can say you're retiring then that's you done with darts. Just stop playing for a while? Have time off then come back a year later?"

It has been a tough year for Anderson, who has only competed in 10 ranking tournaments in 2019 due to a back injury that forced him to withdraw from this year's Premier League.

The two-time world champion lifted the World Cup of Darts trophy alongside Peter Wright in June - Scotland's first success since the tournament's inception.

However, 'The Flying Scotsman' has struggled since his exploits in Hamburg, with a semi-final appearance at a Players Championship event in July his best showing in a ranking event.

"It's not happened as easy as what I thought it would, but we're getting there," Anderson told Live Darts.

"I thought I could just come back and throw straight away but it's not worked out that way."

The 49-year-old won the UK Open and World Matchplay in 2018, while also reaching the Grand Slam final, therefore he is due to defend a sizeable portion of his Order of Merit tally in 2020.

As a consequence, the Scot has refused to rule out a return to the European Tour for the first time since 2016 if he is concerned about his ranking position.

"Next year I might actually do the Europeans and not do the Players Championships because it's one of those - I can't do everything," he added.

"If I was to get into the Premier League, can I do all the travelling to the Europeans? No.

"I can't be away from the house from Wednesday to the following Monday then away again Wednesday morning, I just can't seem to do it now. It's a hell of a long time on the road.

"If I'm worried about my rankings, I'll do the Europeans, if I'm not then I'll stick to the Players Championships.

"The furthest [ProTour venue] away is Barnsley which is three hours up the road. I turn up on a Friday night, play Saturday and Sunday and I'm home Sunday night, it's as simple as that.

"I'm not promising anything, but I might do [some European Tour events], I'm wavering ideas whether to do the Europeans or Pro Tours, I'm just going to see."

It's not long to wait until darts is back on Sky Sports, the World Grand Prix gets under way on Sunday, October 6 at Dublin's Citywest Arena and seven days of coverage continues until the final on Saturday, October 12.