Dancing with the Stars has had its fair share of drama over the years, including contestants fighting through injuries in the attempt to win the Mirrorball Trophy. However, it’s less common to hear about the professional dancers getting injured during the long weeks spent practicing and training for the Dancing with the Stars live shows on ABC. Regardless, that’s exactly what happened to famed dancer Derek Hough, who is out with a nasty injury that could keep him sidelined for some time.
We first heard that Hough had suffered some damage earlier this week while practicing with Maria Menounos after Monday’s show, but at the time, the extent of the dancer's injuries was unknown. On Wednesday, however, Hough’s rep revealed that the problems seem to be pretty extensive. Not only has Derek Hough sprained his left ankle on both the inside and outside aspects, he’s also suffering from a bone bruise on the left ankle, and a broken toe on his right foot. This means both of his legs are affected, which has got to really suck for someone who is as active as the Dancing with the Stars professional dancer.
E! got the official statement from Hough’s representative, which also mentions that his understudy will be filling in for him for New York Spring Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall over the weekend. In addition, it “remains unclear” whether Hough will be back in the saddle to compete with Nastia Liukin on Dancing with the Stars Season 20 next Monday.
This sounds horrible for Olympian Liukin, but it actually may not be so bad if Hough isn’t able to compete next week (which, seriously, the bone bruise alone is enough to keep someone off their feet for a few weeks). Because Derek Hough has also been committed to the New York Spring Spectacular, Luikin has actually been practicing with Henry Byalikov for half of the week while Derek does his thing on the other coast. Now that Hough is hurt, Liukin will be working with Sasha Farber. Since she’s been practicing with another dude anyway, and has still been crushing on the actual show, I don’t expect it to change her game of Derek Hough is still out of commission next week.
Here’s Liukin and Hough exploiting the heck out of Frozen earlier this season, and doing so quite successfully.
I’m sure we’ll hear from the ABC series soon enough if Hough isn’t returning. If not, you can catch him in action next Monday. Hopefully, there won’t be any wincing on the stage. ABC’s Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
