Dancing with the Stars has become synonymous with injuries over the years. The hit dancing series on ABC features pros competing with amateur dancers, and there's a lot of work involved to get the contestants up to snuff each week. A lot of times the pros and the contestants dance through minor injuries, but occasionally they have to bow out thanks to something major happening. That's exactly what happened this week to Sharna Burgess, a Dancing with the Stars pro who has been with the series since Season 16.
News broke prior to Monday's episode that Sharna Burgess was injured, and noted she would have to take a break from the competition. During Monday's episode, the extent of her injuries seemed a whole lot clearer, as Jenna Johnson stepped in for Sharna Burgess. Jenna Johnson joined Dancing with the Stars for Season 23 although her contestant Jake T. Austin was actually eliminated first. Her new partner James Hinchcliffe has absolutely been crushing it this season, so hopefully she has the choreography to help him continue to do well at the same rate.
TMZ notes that it is a knee injury that is plaguing Sharna Burgess and that she'll be out for 3-6 weeks. Considering there are only a few more weeks left of the competition, James Hinchcliffe is likely going to have to deal with Jenna Johnson as the show moves forward. Reports indicate that Burgess fell on her knee last Monday during dress rehearsal and the injury has only worsened since then.
Honestly, if you caught last night's episode, it looks as if James Hinchcliffe will be fine without Sharna, although Sharna shippers were likely unhappy about her absence. Jenna and James danced to a number that was actually choreographed by Sharna, and featured the two wearing Joker and Harley Quinn costumes. Judge Carrie Anne was just gaga over the number, comparing James Hinchcliffe to professional dancer Mark Ballas, and the two earned a score of 30/ 30 and got to avoid the dance-off. Even with the loss of his partner, he was spot-on.
Despite his excellent score this week, James Hinchcliffe does have some major competition in gymnast Laurie Hernandez and couple of the other contestants have done well, including Calvin Johnson Jr. and Jana Kramer. (Ryan Lochte went home this week.) Plus, losing your partner is rather a big deal. Still, he and Sharna seem to be making sthe best of things, and she even shared her feelings about potentially losing out on the Mirrorball trophy with this telling Instagram post.
You can find out how James Hinchcliffe fares when new episodes of Dancing with the Stars hit the schedule on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET, only on ABC. In addition, we'll obviously let you know if Sharna Burgess recovers before the big finale. If you are interested in learning about the grossest Dancing with the Stars injury ever, head here.
