HEARTBREAKING NEWS: Strictly Come Dancing star George Clarke has OPENED UP about his HORRIFIC INJURY during rehearsals

The stars of Strictly Come Dancing are gearing up for the second dance off this week, with tensions already mounting.

George Clarke has disclosed that he had to seek help from a physiotherapist last week after sustaining a back injury during rehearsals. The social media star shared his experience on his podcast, The Useless Hotline Podcast, where he was joined by his Strictly professional dance partner Alexis Warr for the first time.

The 25-year-old dazzled both the judges and viewers with his striking Paso Doble on Saturday, earning a score of 30. He secured third place on the leaderboard for the first two weeks, hot on the heels of Lewis Cope and Amber Davies who clinched second and first place respectively.

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Despite his high scores, George revealed on his podcast that his rehearsal time for the Paso Doble was cut short due to needing physiotherapy for a back injury he picked up in practice.

“I didn’t want it to be a thing on the night,” he stated. “That’s why they asked in the VT, they were like, ‘Do you want to mention your back?’ and I said, ‘I don’t want it to be a thing’.”

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He continued: “I had a pinched nerve all week in my back. I had acupuncture half way through the week. I went to physio four times.”

As for how the injury occurred, George confessed that it happened when a handstand went awry, reports the Mirror.

“I was like, ‘I’ll throw in a handstand or something.’ I like doing a handstand, if I keep my legs together I’d probably be better at it but it doesn’t feel fun when you do it that way,” he shared.

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“I did that and got up and went, ‘My back hurts a little bit actually. Ah s**t, I’ve got a little twinge in there somehow. I’ll try to carry on.'”.

Will revealed that after they took a lunch break, he was unable to return to training and “went straight to physio” instead. “I went to physio the next morning as well. Danced for a bit, sat down,” he added.

Meanwhile, Alexis noted that it’s the ‘most frustrated’ she had seen George, with him adding: “Monday is when they throw a load of information at you and then it’s Terrible Tuesday because you’re trying to figure it out.”

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Not only was he behind with training, but George had to keep halting rehearsal due to his back pain.

“It would get to the point where I’m getting it then I had to sit down because my back was hurting,” he confessed.

Earlier this week, George expressed what participating in the competition truly means to him, writing on Instagram: “Probably [a] good time to continue being serious and thank everyone for their unbelievable support so far.

“Whether you’re old or new (here, not just in general) I really appreciate the comments, the messages and obviously the votes!”.