Sasha Farber To Replace Derek Hough As Nastia Liukin’s ‘DWTS’ Partner?

Sasha Farber knows that the show must go on, even if it means leaving out one of the biggest stars on Dancing with the Stars.

As the Inquisitr previously reported, Derek Hough injured both of his feet while rehearsing for next Tuesday’s Dancing with the Stars 10th anniversary special. He broke a toe on his right foot and sprained his left ankle, so dancing is definitely out of the question. However, DWTS is not going to leave a talented celebrity like Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin high and dry. According to Access Hollywood, she’ll continue training with Dancing with the Stars troupe member Sasha Farber.

Even though Derek Hough has been suffering from dancing overload lately, it wasn’t his DWTS training or his 10 New York Spring Spectacular shows a week that caused his devastating injuries. In an Instagram post, Hough blamed them on a “fluke accident” involving “a light and some stairs.”

There’s been some buzz that Sasha Farber might replace Derek Hough as Nastia Liukin’s partner, but Derek seems pretty determined to get back on the dance floor as soon as he can.

“This is new territory for me, I’m usually able to work through injury but this one has literally floored me. But like I said before I’m determined to come back all guns blazing… soon!!!”

Unfortunately, Derek might be a bit too optimistic. During an interview with ABC News, his close pal, Mark Ballas, said that it would be a bad idea for Derek to compete next week.

“If it were up to Derek, yeah… But if that’s the right move? Probably not. So, we’ll see.”

According to Glamour, Derek didn’t even attend the taping of the Dancing with the Stars 10th anniversary special, so his injury was obviously very serious.

It’s hard to imagine the pro dancing on a broken toe that will likely take weeks to fully heal, so the International Business Times speculates that Sasha Farber will ultimately replace Derek as Nastia Liukin’s partner. Luckily for Sasha, Nastia is used to training with someone other than her pro partner. Because she and Derek have conflicting schedules, she’s been practicing their routines with another DWTS troupe member, Henry Byalikov.

Sasha Farber has only competed on DWTS once — he and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi finished eighth during Season 17 of the show. However, he’s performed during the Dancing with the Stars: Live! tour, and he plays an integral role on the TV show by being a backup dancer for the competing couples. Farber performed a Samba with Hough and Bethany Mota last season.

Sasha also has a great sense of humor, and he tries to keep the competitors’ spirits up during their grueling rehearsals by making them laugh and scaring them half to death. You can check out a few of his Season 20 pranks below.

There is a precedent for what happens whenever a pro gets badly injured on DWTS. According to Wetpaint, Julianne Hough couldn’t dance for two weeks after having her appendix removed during Season 7. Edyta Sliwinska performed in her place until she recovered and was able to return to the show.

Do you think Sasha Farber will replace Derek Hough as Nastia Liukin’s partner for a few weeks, or will Derek decide to dance on his broken toe?

[Image credit: Sasha Farber/Instagram]