Greg Rutherford may be forced to pull out of the live show of Dancing On Ice on Sunday night, after sustaining an injury.
The former track and field athlete, 37, who is partnered with professional Vanessa James, 36, already skipped the dress rehearsal, with future performances in doubt.
An ITV source told MailOnline: ‘Greg missed the dress rehearsal due to injury so at the moment it’s touch and go if he will make the live show tonight.’
It comes after Greg scored his highest mark so far during last week’s show, doing a Salsa to Ricky Martin’s La Bomba.
The duo were full of confidence for the routine which judge Oti Mabuse described as ‘sexy and sultry’ and praised the duo’s chemistry.
Greg Rutherford may be forced to pull out of the live show of Dancing On Ice on Sunday night, after sustaining an injury (pictured with partner Vanessa James last week)
The former track and field athlete, 37, who is partnered with professional Vanessa James, 36, already skipped the dress rehearsal, with future performances in doubt (pictured last month)
Greg advanced through to this week with a score of 30.5, while Claire Sweeney became the latest star to leave the series after landing in the dreaded skate off with Lou Sanders.
Greg’s injury comes right after he recently opened up on his guilt from his partner Vanessa getting hurt on the ice, saying he felt ‘absolutely awful’.
The pair were practicing ahead of their second live performance for Movies Week, when Greg accidentally dropped Vanessa in a move gone wrong.
Speaking to the Express on Sunday, Greg explained: ‘We practised one of the flows that we were doing and I basically threw Vanessa completely wrong and really hurt her.
‘I felt awful, absolutely awful. That really did hit me quite hard but it hit her harder as she hit the ice.
‘It was one of those things that you have to remind yourself every so often that you have to be as respectful as possible to the ice and the movement you are performing.
‘The sport is a very dangerous sport so you have to be on your game, there’s a hell of a responsibility.’
He added that he is constantly focused on making sure Vanessa is safe when practicing dangerous lifts, out of fear that she could be hurt.
It comes after Greg scored his highest mark so far during last week’s show, doing a Salsa to Ricky Martin’s La Bomba (pictured)
Greg advanced through to this week with a score of 30.5, while Claire Sweeney became the latest star to leave the series after landing in the dreaded skate off with Lou Sanders (Claire pictured with pro partner Colin Grafton)
He explained: ‘I’m probably the tallest person on the show by four or five inches and I’ve got a really long wingspan.
‘When I lift Vanessa above my head, she’s very, very high and if something was to go wrong, touch wood it never does, but it’s a long way for her to fall.
‘I’m always very conscious about that, I want to protect her as much as possible.’
Greg already suffered an injury in training for the show, on the very first day on the ice, after getting too ‘excitable’ with his co-stars.
Speaking ahead of the show’s launch, which garnered 4.2 million viewers, Greg revealed: ‘Day one, it had to be bloody day one. We did the masterclass. We’re all hanging out together, having a really good time and doing all these little skills and pushing each other around, just having a good time.
‘We started to get probably a little bit overly excitable. Well I did, in particular, and decided that to try and win a race rather than skate, I’d just sprint on my on my toe picks.’
He continued: ‘Then, I got a little bit too quick for my legs and absolutely hit the deck like no tomorrow and, I’ll be totally honest, I thought I’d broken my hip.
‘It was such a heavy impact and I think it’s going to be shown on the first show how big a hit it was and I had this massive egg form on my hip.
Greg’s injury comes right after he recently opened up on his guilt from his partner Vanessa getting hurt on the ice, saying he felt ‘absolutely awful’ (pictured last month)
He added that he is constantly focused on making sure Vanessa is safe when practicing dangerous lifts, out of fear that she could be hurt (pictured last month)
Greg already suffered an injury in training for the show, on the very first day on the ice, after getting too ‘excitable’ with his co-stars (pictured last month)
‘I showed one of the coaches I just sort of said, “Is that normal, is that like a normal ice burn, sort of reaction?” and they were like, “No, no, I think you should go and get that looked at.”
‘Thankfully it recovered, but it was just a massive eye-opener straight away. But at the moment I did it, I was like, that’s it, that’s my Dancing on Ice finished because it was the amount of pain.’
Meanwhile, bosses have revealed a shocking twist ahead of Sunday’s show, with a double elimination based on a combined score of both the judge’s verdicts and the public vote.
The couple who receive the lowest score will leave the competition immediately without being given the opportunity of a skate-off to save themselves.
The next two couples at the bottom of the leaderboard will be given the chance to skate-off in a bid to have a future in the competition.
Then judges Oti, Ashley Banjo, Jayne Torville, and Christopher Dean will be given the opportunity to say who they want to save to carry on in the glitzy competition.
DANCING ON ICE: MEET THE 2024 CONTESTANTS
RICKY HATTON
AGE: 44
PROFESSION: Former pro boxer
WHAT DID HE SAY? ‘If I can hold my nerve in the boxing ring I should be able to hold my nerve in the ice rink’
HANNAH SPEARRITT
AGE: 42
PROFESSION: SINGER
WHAT DID SHE SAY? ‘I’m really excited about learning a new skill. It’s so easy to live your comfortable life and that aspect of mixing things up is very appealing’
GREG RUTHERFORD
AGE: 36
PROFESSION: Athlete
WHAT DID HE SAY? ‘I like a challenge and I needed a reason to go out and do stuff again and here we are. I want to perform something that’s never been done before, that’s my aim.’
Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards
AGE: 59
PROFESSION: OLYMPIC SKI JUMPER
WHAT DID HE SAY? ‘Dancing on Ice is a show I’ve always wanted to do. It’s a challenge I think I’m going to relish!’
RICKY NORWOOD
AGE: 40
PROFESSION: EastEnders star
WHAT DID HE SAY? ‘It’s come at such a great time in life. I can’t skate at all! No rehearsals as yet, I’ve just had some physiotherapy to strengthen the body.’
RYAN THOMAS
AGE: 39
PROFESSION: Corrie star
WHAT DID HE SAY? ‘Everyone keeps asking me, “are you doing it?” I’ve told everyone!’
CLAIRE SWEENEY
AGE: 52
PROFESSION: ACTRESS
WHAT DID SHE SAY? ‘I am stepping into the unknown here. I don’t know how I will feel. But I am very excited.’
AMBER DAVIES
AGE: 26
PROFESSION: WEST END STAR
WHAT DID SHE SAY? ‘I would definitely say that I’m an adrenaline junkie but I do get more nervous as I get older and I hope that I can contain them’
MILES NAZAIRE
AGE: 27
PROFESSION: REALITY STAR
WHAT DID HE SAY? ‘I’ve always loved to dance but it’s usually on a dance floor on a Saturday night and Dancing on Ice looks so difficult.’
LOU SANDERS
AGE: 37
PROFESSION: COMEDIAN
WHAT DID SHE SAY? ‘I’m nervous about cracking my head open, or just bashing the old head. I can’t afford to lose any more brain cells.’
ADELE ROBERTS
AGE: 44
PROFESSION: RADIO PRESENTER
WHAT DID SHE SAY? ‘It’s ”bricking it on ice” for me! I think the hardest part is putting myself out there as I usually hide away’
ROXY SHAHIDI
AGE: 40
PROFESSION: Emmerdale star
WHAT DID SHE SAY? ‘I can’t ice-skate. I haven’t really said anything to anyone but mainly because I’m so nervous about it!’
