The Strictly Come Dancing 2021 final is just days away, but unfortunately, AJ Odudu suffered an injury to her foot which has impacted her ability to rehearse properly.
Speaking to What to Watch and other press during a Strictly Come Dancing press conference hosted by It Takes Two presenter Rylan Clark, AJ revealed: "There's a bit of ligament damage going on there. Long story short, I've hurt the ligament in my arch and I can't put any weight on my foot at all. At all!
"So, we have missed a lot of training because I can't stand up, I'm on crutches, and I'm doing everything I can to try and be there on Saturday night."
AJ is partnered with Kai Widdrington, who added: "We rehearsed on Monday, we did the show dance, we got through it. Obviously, we still need to patch it up a little bit and connect everything, there's a lot of lifts in there."
AJ continued: "It's just really frustrating actually because the two dances that we are repeating from the series, we've not performed them in weeks and weeks, and without giving too much away they're energy-inducing dances!"
She went on to describe the show dance as 'beautiful' and 'epic', but stressed that they needed the practice to 'give it everything'.
AJ is now resting as much as possible, prioritizing her health ahead of the big final on Saturday night. She has also taken to Instagram to share a photo of herself on crutches, giving fans a detailed update.
In her post she told everyone she was remaining 'hopeful and positive' ahead of the big night, thanking the 'fantastic medical team' who had supported her following the foot injury. Fingers crossed AJ will be able to make it!
Should the final go ahead as planned, Kai and AJ will compete against John Waithe and Johannes Radebe, and Rose-Ayling Ellis, and Giovanni Pernice. But who will be following in Bill Bailey's footsteps to join the Strictly Come Dancing winners list?
The Strictly Come Dancing final airs on BBC1 at 7pm on Saturday, Dec. 18. For full listings - see our TV Guide.
