Maksim Chmerkovskiy Calf Injury Worse Than He Thought: Will ‘DWTS’ Pro Return?
Maksim Chmerkovskiy has high hopes to return to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom, but the calf injury he suffered during rehearsals last week is worse than he originally thought. Chmerkovskiy’s rep told Entertainment Tonight that Maksim is recovering from a procedure he underwent to repair his calf injury, but the 37-year-old pro dancer may have to sit on the sidelines longer than he expected.
An insider told ET that Chmerkovskiy tore his calf muscle “pretty badly” and that his injury is “a lot worse than everyone initially thought.” While Maksim has told people he will be back in the ballroom in a couple of weeks, his doctors reportedly want him to take at least a month off.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy posted a selfie which made it appear that he was getting ready to have surgery in a hospital in Ohio, where he’s being treated by renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. William Seeds, but the ET insider revealed that the one-time mirrorball champ had a series of shots and not a surgical procedure. In the past, Dr. Seeds has treated fellow DWTS pros Keo Motsepe, Sharna Burgess, and even Maksim’s fiancée, Peta Murgatroyd.
Dancing With the Stars cameras captured the moment that Chmerkovskiy was injured. The new dad was in rehearsals with his partner, Glee star Heather Morris, ahead of Week 2 of the celebrity ballroom competition, when something snapped. Maksim was clearly in pain as he told his partner something was wrong.
“I think something went down,” Maksim said.
“It’s my calf muscle…It just felt like something hit it…I can’t stand on it. This is not good.”
While DWTS troupe member Alan Bersten ultimately stepped in to dance with Morris during the live show, the Glee star told E! News she originally thought Maksim’s injury was nothing serious.
“It seemed like something that was so small,” Morris.
“And my reaction obviously wasn’t huge because it was like, ‘Oh, what happened? It just felt like something popped?’ And he couldn’t really walk.”
Heather also said Maksim was “so manly and humble” throughout the ordeal.
“He was like, ‘No, I’m fine.’ And was just trying to figure it out by himself,” Heather revealed.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Murgatroyd said Maksim’s injury was a “freak accident,” and that his calf just “popped.”
Maksim’s brother, fellow DWTS pro Val Chmerkovskiy, said his big brother will be back better than ever.
“He’s good, he’s the better bro,” Val joked.
“He’s going to be alright. He’s just going to get therapy and hopefully recuperate quickly, and hopefully the Chmerkovskiy gene is going to kick in and he’s going to recover quick.”
While Maksim recovers from his injury, he is receiving plenty of well wishes from fans, friends, and even his newborn son, Shai Aleksandr. Maksim’s fiancée Peta posted a photo of their baby with a message that Shai is “wishing Daddy a speedy recovery from La La Land.”
Chmerkovskiy also thanked his fans for their support and urged them to vote for Morris and Bersten, who will dance a tango next week.
“Please rest assured that I’m taking this thing very seriously and, although I don’t have a concrete return date, I’ll give it my all!” Maksim promised his fans.
Dancing With the Stars fans expect that Maksim Chmerkovskiy will return to the show sometime this season, possibly even sooner than his doctors recommend. Maksim previously planned to sit this season out to be a stay-at-home dad to his newborn son, but he had a change of plans when Peta also signed on to the 24th season of the hit ABC show.
Take a look at the video below to see the moment Maksim Chmerkovskiy suffered his injury.
[Featured Image by Brian Ach/Getty Images for adidas]
