Strictly Come Dancing star Jody Cundy has revealed his performance on this weekend’s show is in jeopardy after he was forced to go to hospital with an infected leg.
The Paralympian, who was three when his leg was amputated, explained that he has not been able to rehearse for two days because of the infection that has left his limb red and swollen.
The 44-year-old, who is paired with 2022 champion Jowita PrzystaÅ, told Janette Manrara on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two that it’s been a “week of highs and lows”.
He shared on Thursday’s show: “The first two days, absolutely flown by, the end of day two, we’d done the routine a number of times from start to finish, which I had not done for the previous two dances.
“Really confident that we could just perfect everything for Saturday, I got home on Tuesday night, took my leg off, and was like, ‘Ooh, that’s quite sore,’ and didn’t really think too much of it. Cleaned it, bathed it, made sure it was all OK.
“Then I got up around 4am, looked at my leg, and it was warm, swollen, and I was like, ‘That’s getting infected, I need to see somebody about it’.”
Cundy explained that during his hospital visit, doctors prescribed him antibiotics. Despite this, he was still unable to wear his prosthetic leg.
He continued: “That was Wednesday’s training out. So, I tried again this morning [Thursday] to get my leg on, not been able to get my leg on today, but it is healing, it is getting better but at the moment I’m still not able to get my leg on.
“The hope is that tomorrow the swelling’s gone down a little bit more and we’re in a situation where I can do a little bit of practice and pick up where we left off on Tuesday.”
Determined to see the positives, Cundy added: “Fortunately, I’m in a position where I actually know the routine and we’ve gone all the way through.”
Following his appearance on the BBC spin-off, the sports star took to Instagram to update fans and said he hoped to be back on the dancefloor this weekend.
He wrote on his Instagram Story: “You may have seen on It Takes Two, that I’ve picked up a minor niggle this week that’s meant I’ve missed a few days training.
“Everything seems to be settling down and I hope to be back on the dancefloor this Saturday evening.”
Last week, Strictly viewers watched Cundy and his pro partner earned 16 points for their paso doble to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck.
