Greg Rutherford opens about his ‘horribly painful’ Dancing On Ice injury which left him with a torn ab and two herniated disks

Greg Rutherford has spoken openly about the ‘terribly painful’ injury he suffered during Dancing On Ice, which left him with two hernias and a torn abdominal muscle.

The 37-year-old Olympian was a guest on Wednesday’s episode of Lorraine and explained why he had to miss the dance finals after the accident.

The athlete told the presenter the incident was “bizarre” and that he remained on the ice for 10 minutes before being moved.

Greg injured himself after jumping through the legs of professional footballer Colin Grafton, describing the injury as ‘the same as a caesarean section’.

Greg described the exact moment when it “went horribly wrong,” explaining: “I looked completely panicked and the two professionals on the ice were unbelievable. They were immediately yelling for people to come and I couldn’t move.”

The 37-year-old Olympian, who appeared in Lorraine, missed the dance final after the accident 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 most bizarre things because it was all in the stomach and you don’t realise how much you use your stomach until it’s damaged.

‘I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do anything and I was on the ice for 10 minutes with laughing gas before they had to take me off.’

When Lorraine asked how his health was now, Greg replied, “I’m doing a lot better, thank you.”

‘I had to have surgery to repair the injuries, I had quite nasty hernias and I had also torn my left lower abdomen, which wasn’t ideal.

“It’s also difficult, because mentally you have to get everything back in order. You’ve just started with a great show, now you’re in the spotlight and you can skate incredibly well, and then suddenly you can’t move anymore.”

Before ending his conversation with Lorraine, he hinted at a return to the dance competition.

He said: ‘There’s been some early talk about whether I might come back and maybe skate again… I’d love to give it another go.

‘I didn’t expect to like it that much, but that was what made it interesting for me.’

Greg initially kept quiet about the injury, but in April he informed his fans and revealed his scar.

The athlete told the presenter that the incident was ‘bizarre’ and that he remained on the ice for 10 minutes before being moved

He injured himself after jumping through the legs of professional Colin Grafton, tearing his abdominal muscles and suffering a hernia in what he said was ‘essentially a caesarean section’.

Greg initially kept quiet about the injury, but updated his fans in April and revealed his scar

Greg took to Instagram to show off what his scar looks like now after abdominal surgery, as well as the “crazy swelling” he experienced

Greg also revealed what his ‘horrible’ Dancing On Ice injury was as he headed to hospital for surgery

Greg took to Instagram to show off what his scar looks like now after the abdominal surgery, including the “crazy swelling” he experienced.

He captioned the photos: ‘A little stomach update… I’m now almost 4 weeks post-op and feeling much better.

‘I can move without feeling any pain and the wound is now closed and healed. Photo 2 shows the crazy swelling I had at first.

“I can’t really flex my abs yet, but I’ll get there. I’ve also gained a lot of weight since the surgery, so as soon as I’m ready, I’ll start working out to get back in shape… maybe even get back on the skates.”

Greg also told of the ‘horrible’ injury he suffered during Dancing On Ice when he was rushed to hospital for surgery.

He told fans: ‘Today is the day of the surgery. A lot of people have been asking ‘what happened?’

‘I was quite busy and just recovering from the injury I had before the surgery, so I haven’t been able to talk about it yet.

‘Short story, I jumped through Colin’s legs and tore all my abs and got a hernia. So I effectively gave myself a c-section.

“So yeah, it was excruciatingly painful. I have to have surgery today and then I’ll be back on my feet. It was very painful, pretty awful.”

The Olympian was set to compete against Ryan Thomas, Adele Roberts and Miles Nazaire for the trophy.

Ryan skated to victory and was crowned winner of Dancing On Ice 2024 during the live final together with his professional partner Amani Fancy.

The Olympian, pictured with his pro partner Vanessa, was due to compete against Ryan Thomas, Adele Roberts and Miles Nazaire for the trophy.

Greg, meanwhile, shared a video of himself and Vanessa James performing the bolero, lamenting missing the final and feeling “a bit sad”.

He wrote: ‘Something I really wanted to do… #Bolero It’s almost 36 hours since the injury and I’m watching the videos of what could have been. It’s bloody hard to process right now because I know we could have shown something exciting and new with our last performances.

‘Of course the Bolero is not a given and I will post our showcase at some point too… I haven’t shown the ending yet because I am determined to perform it with Vanessa one day for everyone to see.

“I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished on the show. This take was from Saturday morning and we were marking for the double twist… the whole program was really beautiful. I’m a little sad at the moment.”