Greg Rutherford has spoken out about his “horribly painful” Dancing On Ice injury that left him with two herniated discs and a torn abdominal muscle.
On Wednesday’s episode of Lorraine, the Olympian, 37, explained why he was forced to miss the dance final after the accident.
The athlete told the presenter that the incident was ‘strange’ and that he was left on the ice for 10 minutes before being moved.
Greg was injured after jumping between the legs of professional Colin Grafton, and described the injury as “effectively having a Caesarean section”.
Detailing the exact moment it all went ‘horribly wrong’, Greg explained: ‘I had a look of absolute panic and the two professionals who were on the ice, who were amazing, immediately yelled for people to come and I couldn’t move.’
Greg Rutherford has spoken out about his ‘horribly painful’ Dancing On Ice injury which left him with a hernia and a tear in his abdomen.
The 37-year-old Olympian, who appeared in Lorraine, missed the dance final after the mishap on the morning of rehearsals, but did not reveal what it was at the time (pictured with Vanessa James)
He continued: ‘It was one of the strangest things because everything was in the stomach and then you realise how much you use the stomach when it’s damaged.
“I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do anything and I was lying on the ice for 10 minutes on gas and air before they had to take me out.”
When Lorraine asked how his health was now, Greg replied: “I’m much better, thank you.”
‘I had to have surgery to repair the injuries, so I developed some pretty nasty hernias and my lower left abdomen also fell out, which wasn’t ideal.
“It’s also a bit difficult because mentally you have to come to terms with it again, because you go from doing this amazing show to being the centre of attention doing these amazing skates and all of a sudden you can’t move particularly.”
Before ending his chat with Lorraine, he teased her return to the dance competition.
He said: ‘It’s been discussed from the beginning whether I come back or not and maybe do a skate… I would love to try it again.
“It was something I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did and that was what was interesting to me.”
Greg initially kept quiet about the injury, but updated his fans in April and revealed his scar.
The athlete told the presenter that the incident was ‘strange’ and that he was left on the ice for 10 minutes before being taken away.
He was injured after jumping between the legs of professional Colin Grafton and tearing his abdominal muscles and causing a hernia, which he said “was like having a Caesarean section”.
Greg initially kept quiet about the injury, but updated his fans in April and revealed his scar.
On Instagram, Greg showed what his scar looks like now after abdominal surgery, as well as the “insane swelling” he experienced.
Greg also revealed what his “horrible” Dancing On Ice injury was as he headed to hospital for surgery.
On Instagram, Greg showed what his scar looks like now after abdominal surgery, as well as the “incredible swelling” he experienced.
Alongside the snaps, she wrote: ‘A little update on my stomach… It’s been almost 4 weeks since surgery and I’m feeling much better.
“I can move around without feeling almost any pain and the wound has already closed and healed. Photo 2 shows the enormous swelling I had at the beginning.
“I can’t really get my abs right yet, but that’s on the way. I’ve also gained a lot of weight since the operation, so as soon as I’m ready I’ll start training to get back in shape… maybe even get back to skating.”
Greg also revealed what his “horrible” Dancing On Ice injury was as he headed to hospital for surgery.
She told her followers: “Today is surgery day. A lot of people have been wondering ‘what happened?’
‘I’ve been a bit busy and obviously just recovering from the initial injury before surgery, so I haven’t had time to talk about it.
‘Long story short, I jumped between Colin’s legs and tore all my abs and also got a hernia. So I had a C-section.
“Yes, it was terribly painful. I have to have surgery today and then I will recover. It was very painful, quite horrible.”
The Olympian was set to battle Ryan Thomas, Adele Roberts and Miles Nazaire for the trophy.
Ryan skated to victory and was crowned the winner of Dancing On Ice 2024 alongside professional partner Amani Fancy during the live final.
The Olympian, pictured with his professional partner Vanessa, was set to battle Ryan Thomas, Adele Roberts and Miles Nazaire for the trophy.
Meanwhile, Greg shared a video of himself and Vanessa James doing the bolero as he lamented missing the final and was “a little heartbroken.”
He wrote: “Something I really wish I could have performed… #Bolero. It’s been almost 36 hours since the injury and I’m watching the videos of what could have been. It’s so hard to accept right now as I know we could have shown something exciting and new with our final performances.
‘Of course, the Bolero is not a guaranteed thing and I will also post our performance at some point… I haven’t shown the ending because I am determined to perform it with Vanessa one day for everyone to see.
“I’m really proud of what we accomplished on the show. This shot was from Saturday morning and we were marking the double turn… the whole show was really beautiful. I’m a little heartbroken right now.”