Dancing on Ice star Greg Rutherford reveals 'painful' details of 'freak accident' that forced him to pull out of final

25 March 2024, 12:16 | Updated: 25 March 2024, 12:25

Greg Rutherford has said he ‘effectively gave himself a C-section’ as he revealed the details of his Dancing on Ice injury.

The 37-year-old Olympian, who had been paired with Vanessa James, pulled out from the series final earlier this month after a freak accident during rehearsals.

Mr Rutherford has now shared the details of his injury, telling fans “I effectively gave myself a C-section” when he slid through the legs of professional skaters Brendyn Hatfield and Colin Grafton.

Ahead of surgery, Greg said on Instagram: “I’ve been a bit busy and obviously just recovering from the initial injury before I have the surgery that I hadn’t actually got round to talking about it.

"Long story short, I leapt through the legs of Brendyn and Colin and managed to tear all of my abs as well as herniate.

“So I effectively gave myself a C-section."

Following his surgery, he gave an update from his hospital bed, Greg added: “Operation done. Recovery starts here.

“Thank you for your messages. It was a slightly bigger op than originally hoped, but it’s all sorted.

“Surgeons really happy with his work and I’m excited to get fit again. But for the next few days I’m going to be very sore and doing a lot of nothing.”

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It comes after Greg’s fiancé Susie Verill addressed concerns from fans as to why the retired Olympian hadn’t shared any more details about his injury with fans.

She said in response to a comment: “It really isn’t anything gory or horrifying; just very painful and a bit of a freak accident.

"He hasn’t gone in to it because specialists have been working out how to pinpoint it/work out next steps so I think the show were keen not to say anything until they have official report back."

Earlier this month Greg shared a clip of the moment he injured himself on the ice.

Writing on Instagram, he said: “Here we gooooo. This is the showcase we didn’t get the perform due to injury.

"The point where I dive through Colin and Brendyn’s legs is where everything went wrong last Sunday.

“I utterly loved this showcase. Everyone involved had worked so hard. Just look at the set too!! The guys behind the scenes never get enough credit, what they build in such a short amount of time is mind blowing.

“Although I won’t be able to skate for maybe a couple of months. I intend on getting back on the ice and keeping it up. I really do love it.”

After being rushed to the hospital at the time, Greg’s partner Vanessa announced on Instagram that they had to withdraw from the competition.

She said: “Unfortunately Greg has sustained a significant injury this morning at rehearsals and won’t be able to perform tonight.

“We are on our way to the hospital for Greg to get examined further and receive the treatment he needs."

A spokesman for the show added: “Sadly Olympian Greg Rutherford MBE has had to withdraw from Dancing On Ice after sustaining an injury whilst in rehearsals for the final episode of the current series.

"Greg and Vanessa have been such a popular couple this series and have performed some truly memorable routines.

“We will be helping to support Greg and wish him well with his recovery.''