George Clarke needed urgent medical attention after hurting his back (Image: undefined)

Strictly Come Dancing’s George Clarke revealed he needed urgent medical treatment last week after sustaining a back injury during practice sessions. The social media star discussed his injury on his podcast, The Useless Hotline Podcast – welcoming Strictly professional dance partner Alexis Warr as a guest for the first time.

The 25 year old impressed both the judging panel and viewers with his spectacular Paso Doble on Saturday, earning a score of 30.

He secured third position on the leaderboard for the opening two weeks, trailing behind Lewis Cope and Amber Davies who claimed second and first place respectively, reports the Mirror. Despite his commanding performance on the scoreboard, George disclosed on his podcast that his rehearsal time for the Paso Doble was reduced due to requiring physiotherapy for a back injury he picked up during training. “I didn’t want it to be a thing on the night,” he explained. “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.'”

George Clarke was determined to perform in the live show (Image: Guy Levy/BBC/PA)

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.” Regarding how the injury occurred, George confessed that the problem arose after a handstand went awry. “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 confessed.

“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.'”

After taking a lunch break, Will admitted he couldn’t 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.

Alexis noted that this was the ‘most frustrated’ she had seen George, who chimed in: “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.”

Not only was he behind with training, but George had to keep stopping 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 explained.

Earlier this week, George expressed his gratitude for the support he’s received during the competition, posting 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!”.