‘Very tough to come back from’ Strictly Come Dancing star opens up on ‘devastating’ injury

Strictly: Rylan jokes about Greg Wise's 'hip thrust'

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Strictly Come Dancing suffered a loss this weekend as former England rugby player Ugo Monye was unable to perform due to a back injury. Ugo and his dance partner Oti Mabuse missed Saturday’s show, but hope to return to the competition next week. Former Strictly contestant Will Bayley has looked back on his time on the BBC dance show, offering Ugo some words of advice.

Will took to the iconic Strictly dance floor back in 2019, partnered with professional dancer Janette Manrara.

However, his time in the competition was sadly cut short as he had to withdraw in Week Six after suffering a serious leg injury.

The British Paralympian pulled out of the show after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament during dance rehearsals.

Looking back on the experience, Will said: “It was devastating at the time and very tough to come back from.

“I had a lot of support from the Strictly team, especially from the camaraderie of the other contestants,” he explained.

After hearing about Ugo’s back injury, Will offered the sports star some advice: “Ugo needs to take things a day at a time and keep a positive mindset.

“During Strictly, I jumped off a table and tore my ACL. I found it hard to recover until I partnered with B-Cure, and it’s the one trick that I used and it really helped with my acute pain.

“The key is every day trying to improve and stay as active as possible,” he commented.

“Even from a mental health perspective, it will be hard to take right now but doing a little bit of activity every day is better than nothing,” Will added.

It took the Paralympian almost two years to recover from his “devastating” Strictly injury.

The star has since linked up with B-Cure Laser, producers of a low-level laser therapy pain relief device, and claims to have found an improvement in his training and recovery.

However, it’s not just Ugo who Will has his eye on in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing line-up.

He also revealed he’s been impressed by deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis and her dance partner Giovanni Pernice.

Will remarked: “I think Rose and Giovanni will do well. It’s great to see people like Rose getting the opportunity to perform and she’s been really impressive.

“It’s so cool for young people with hearing problems to have her to look up to and be inspired by.

“Judi [Love] is another who can go far. Adam [Peaty] has a really competitive edge. He’s a hard worker and will improve as the series continues,” the Paralympian predicted.

Will isn’t the only celebrity to have dropped out of the BBC dance contest because of an injury.

Athlete Jade Johnson withdrew from the competition in 2009 after suffering a serious knee injury.

Similarly, Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing was meant to appear on the 2017 edition of the show, but had to pull out after hurting his foot during the pre-recorded launch show.

As for the current series of the show, Ugo and Oti hope to return to the competition on Saturday night.

Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday at 7pm on BBC One.

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