‘DWTS’ Pro Cheryl Burke Injured During Rehearsals Ahead Of Week 7 ‘Villains Night’ Performance With AJ McLean

Shortly before Monday night’s broadcast of Dancing with the Stars, a video emerged showing a frightening injury that professional dancer Cheryl Burke sustained during rehearsals. Cheryl and her partner AJ McLean have been major contenders for this season’s mirrorball trophy, but now DWTS fans will have to tune in to see if she can continue to compete.

The Instagram account for the show shared the video clip showing Cheryl’s injury. It happened during rehearsals on Sunday and came when she was running through her routine. She could be seen shuffling backward as AJ moved toward her, and she lost her footing.

Cheryl fell backward and her head hit the dance floor. AJ tripped over her but immediately turned to check on his partner. He rushed over to her side and asked if she was okay.

The Dancing with the Stars pro stayed pretty still but tried to lift her head slightly as her teammate talked to her. As the video continued, she was seen sitting up and holding an ice pack to the back of her head.

As is pretty typical of the show, they did not reveal whether Cheryl would be able to perform Monday for “Villains Night.” The episode will likely build up suspense on this front for a while before detailing the dancer’s status.

Around the same time that the DWTS page shared this clip, Cheryl took to her Instagram page to acknowledge the incident. She posted a trio of still photographs from rehearsal, none of which showed the fall or the aftermath.

In her caption, the DWTS star said she had taken a hard fall, and she managed to joke about how it wasn’t part of the routine. She did note that she and her partner were keeping their fingers crossed for only planned mishaps during Monday’s show.

That wording might suggest that she will be able to dance. However, viewers may have to wait for an official reveal that will come during the evening broadcast.

According to People, a medic was brought in to check Cheryl on the set. The medic suggested that she take the rest of the day off from further rehearsing, which it seemed she did. However, the outlet was unable to confirm Cheryl’s status for the upcoming Week 7 performance.

The pair is slated to dance the tango to the Intermezzo Orchestra song “Psycho.” She did tease in her Instagram post that their routine ends with him acting as if he kills her, and it sounds as if this is slated to be an intense performance.

The duo had a stellar performance last week, ending the evening at the top of the leaderboard. That should keep them safe through the next elimination, providing a bit of a buffer for any issues that emerge related to this tumble.

Will Cheryl’s injury prevent her from performing during Week 7 of Dancing with the Stars? Fans are certainly hoping that won’t be the case.