Maksim Chmerkovskiy Injury: Maks Promises to Return With 150 Percent Effort for Heather Morris
"Dancing With the Stars" pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy only got to dance his first week on the show's ongoing season 24 before he tore a calf muscle. One surgery and three days of therapy later, Maks feels confident enough to assure his fans that he's not done with the season just yet.
Maks gave his worried fans a recovery update via Instagram following his surgery. The 37-year-old Ukrainian dancer posted a video of himself walking and showing off some basic dance moves to let his fans know that he's progressing well through his therapy. The video has been captioned, "Therapy day 3 post calf muscle tear, progress check..."
But the dancer also readily admits that while he's getting there, he's really not quite there just yet. The dancer has reportedly been advised by doctors to sit out and rest for at least a month, but a source told Entertainment Tonight that Maks is still very determined to recover as quickly as possible and rush right back into the competition.
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During rehearsals for this week's competition, Maks spoke to his partner, Heather Morris, who is currently paired up with Alan Bersten, and told her that he still believes they have a chance and that she deserves to win.
"I want to give you 150 percent effort and be physically as active as I was at my best when nothing hurt. I want to come back and win!" Maks told Heather.
Maks first appeared on the second season of "Dancing With the Stars" and has already made it to the final round five times in his 16 seasons with the show. Maks has also accomplished two runner-up and two third-place finishes before finally winning his first Mirrorball Trophy with Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis in 2014 during the show's 18th season.
For season 24, the Ukrainian pro dancer is paired with "Glee" alumna, Morris, who was spared from elimination this week with a 33/40 score after dancing the Tango with her temporary partner, Alan.
There is still no news as to when Maks will return to the show.
"Dancing With the Stars" airs every Monday at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.
