'Strictly' finalist AJ Odudu forced to have 'emergency scan' following injury

The Strictly Come Dancing 2021 final is just days away but unfortunately, AJ Odudu has reportedly injured her foot which forced her to miss a training session this week. 

According to The Mirror, AJ missed training yesterday after experiencing "severe" pain in her foot and had an emergency scan because of this.

A show insider said they were "hopeful" that she would be fit to perform the final but she is "currently trying to rest her foot". It's not exactly known how much this injury will impact AJ's ability to perform in the final, but currently, it seems she's trying to continue on as best as she can.

A source revealed: "This is the worst possible timing but AJ is a real trooper and will keep going no matter what. The pain in her foot was terrible."

AJ is set to compete in Saturday night's Strictly final alongside John Whaite and Rose Ayling-Ellis, with all three hoping to be the lucky one to lift the glitterball trophy and follow in the footsteps of 2020 winner Bill Bailey.

All three celebrities have consistently impressed judges throughout the competition, with Craig Revel Horwood telling Hello! magazine that he was very impressed with the standard of this year's competition.

He said: "The standard has been so high this year, we've never had dancing like it. And there's been no joke act — no Anne Widdicombe, or John Sergeant — it's been fair and square and tough competition."

AJ and Kai's semi-final quickstep was especially praised by all four judges, earning them a perfect score of 40 and ultimately securing AJ a place in the series final. But competition is certainly tough, as there have been very high scores for John and Rose too, with the latter scoring the earliest perfect 40 in the show's history.

The Strictly Come Dancing 2021 final airs on BBC1 at 7pm on Saturday, Dec 18. For full listings check our TV Guide.