Strictly’s Jody Cundy steps out with crutches after health scare sparked fears he may not recover in time for Saturday’s show

Jody Cundy stepped out on crutches on Friday for fear he would not be able to perform during Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday.

The 44-year-old Paralympian was rushed to hospital this week after waking up at 4am with a swollen, infected leg.

Jody, who had one of his legs amputated when he was three years old after being born with a deformed foot, had to give up two whole days of training because of the infection that left him unable to wear his prosthetic leg.

However, the star was back on his feet as he headed to dress rehearsals a day before the live show with a smile on his face.

However, he did not appear to have fully recovered as he was still carrying his crutches.

Jody and his partner Jowita Przystal shared a photo on Instagram on Thursday following their appearance on It Takes Two after Jody revealed he noticed his limb had become red and swollen.

Jowita, 29, shared the post: ‘Thank you so much for all your lovely messages and support.

‘Staying positive is key and we really hope we can perform this routine for you as it means a lot to us and sends lots of love! Team wheels and heels’.

Jody also discussed his health complaint on his Instagram Story, writing: ‘You may have seen on It Takes Two that I picked up a little niggle this week which means I’ve missed a few days of training.

“Everything seems to be calming down and I hope to be back on the @bbcstrictly dance floor on Saturday evening.”

Appear with host Janette Manrara he explained: ‘It was a week with highs and lows. The first two days absolutely flew by. By the end of day two we had done the full routine a number of times, which I had not done the previous two dances.

‘I was confident that I could perfect everything on Saturday. I came home Tuesday night and took my leg off and thought, “Oh, that’s pretty painful.”

‘I didn’t think about it too much and cleaned him, bathed him and made sure everything was fine.

‘I got up at four in the morning and looked at my leg, it was hot, swollen and I thought ‘that’s going to be infected’.’

Jody revealed that he went straight to the hospital and was prescribed antibiotics.

But by the time morning came, the athlete could no longer put on his prosthetic leg because his limb was so swollen.

Jody said this meant he missed both Wednesday and Thursday rehearsals.

He said, “It’s healing and getting better. The swelling has decreased a little further.’

Jody dances the American Smooth to Married Life from Up for Movie Week.

Last week he got 16 points for his Pasa Doble.

The swimmer told BBC Breakfast this week about his score: ‘Learning the steps, the constant repetition.

“I can’t get my left leg and my right leg to do what my brain is telling me, and that’s really taxing.”

Jowita also admitted that the competition was a ‘big challenge’ and ‘stressful’.

“We throw someone who has never danced before into the room and tell them, ‘You have four days to learn the routine, perfect it and perform it in front of millions of people,’” she said.

Jody candidly admitted, “The most overused phrase in the ballroom right now is ‘again’ and ‘one more time.’