Maksim Chmerkovskiy Teases Early Return to ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Following Calf Injury

Maksim Chmerkovskiy says he will be back, and it sounds like it will be sooner, rather than later. Chmerkovskiy, who has had to sit out the past two weeks of Dancing With the Stars due to a serious calf injury, says he is hoping for a complete comeback to the ABC celebrity ballroom competition, possibly in time for Monday’s Most Memorable Year theme week.

“I’m hoping for a full comeback [by the] end of this week and then we’ll start rehearsing,” Maksim told the DWTS audience last week.

While it sounds like to would be a miraculous feat after Maksim underwent a stem cell procedure and is currently doing physical therapy, his brother, Val Chmerkovskiy, said he is impressed by his big bro’s speedy recovery.

“I was surprised,” Val Chmerkovskiy told Entertainment Tonight. “I’m overestimating his age, I guess. But he looked great. I hope he’s back soon. It’s not the same without him. We’re each other’s biggest fans. I’m his biggest fan, he’s my biggest fan [since] way before the competition. So we compete, but we compete with each other, not against each other.”

Maksim’s fiancée. Peta Murgatroyd, also told ET she thinks her man will be back in the ballroom very soon.

“He’s going to be back soon I think,” Peta said. “I don’t know if he’ll be dancing next week, but the next week after he will definitely be dancing.”

Maksim Chmerkovskiy recently gave props to his doc, Dr. William Seeds. After his procedure, Maksim spoke on behalf of the renowned orthopedic surgeon at a conference in which he touted the benefits of peptide optimization.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy is partnered with Glee alum Heather Morris this season with Dancing With the Stars. Chmerkovskiy’s return to the ballroom was initially a surprise because the new dad (Murgatroyd gave birth to the couple’s first child, Shai Aleksandr, in January) initially said he planned to sit this season out to stay home with his newborn son.

“I’m telling you right now I have zero interest in coming back as a dancer [next season],” Maksim told Bravo’s the Daily Dish last fall.

“I’m going to have a newborn baby. I have zero want to do this. I promise you that…Trust me, I really don’t care how this comes across, but there’s no money on the planet that can replace me missing out the three, four, five months of my baby’s life. Zero chance.”

Obviously, Maksim Chmerkovskiy changed his tune, and he went on to embrace his “ringer” partnership with Morris, who has an extensive dance background and was once a backup dancer for Beyonce.

“Listen, I’ll take it,” Chmerkovskiy said. “I’ll take whatever I can get. It’s a hard show. It’s a difficult production…To say that we just have this massive advantage, I think so, but I don’t think we’re the only ones that could pull off beautiful, beautiful numbers. I’m ready for us to be scrutinized a little different and judged a little different and rightfully so, we’ll do our best.”

While Maksim Chmerkovskiy has been on the sidelines, Morris has scored respectable numbers with her temporary partner DWTS troupe member Alan Bersten. While it is not confirmed if Maksim will be back to celebrate Morris’ Most Memorable Year, it sounds like he will be back on the show by next week to compete with Morris against fellow Dancing With the Stars heavy hitters Simone Biles, Rashad Jennings, and his brother Val’s celebrity partner, Normani Kordei.

Take a look at the video below to see Maksim Chmerkovskiy talking about his plans to return to Dancing With the Stars.

[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]