Dani Dyer reveals horror foot injury for first time after being forced to quit Strictly

Dani Dyerhas revealed the extent of her foot injury after she was forced to pull out of this year's Strictly Come Dancing before it had even begun. The Love Island winner, 29, admitted it has been "really testing" on her mental health as she stepped away from the BBC competition.

Shefractured her ankle in a rehearsal after the pre-recorded launch show, and was unable to continue. Her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin has since been paired with fellow Love Islander Amber Davies, who has taken Dani's place. However, Dani has been told she is welcome back to compete next year if she wishes.

Last week, Dani revealed she felt "pure devastation" at the decision and has been spending time with her family while she recovers. In her latest social media update, she shared a photo of her bandaged foot for the first time.

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The mum-of-three has been slowly getting back into exercise despite her injury as she shared a snap from the gym. Dani had both her feet resting up on a bar as her left foot could be seen wrapped in a bandage.

She has also treated herself to a head massage and spent time with her children Santiago, Summer and Star. Speaking on her podcast, Live and Let Dyers, Dani emotionally recalled the moment when she realised her Strictly journey was over.

The TV star said: "The doctor said to me, if I continue dancing on this foot, it's not going to heal, it's going to get worse and worse and worse."

"It's so hard because I was just having the best time of my life. I was so happy, I was so excited. The photoshoots, they're the fun part, but I got my partner, I got Nikita," she revealed.

Dani explained: "We were all just so devastated about it, and I think because everyone was so devastated about it, it made it really hard for me, do you know what I mean?"

She added that she couldn't leave the house because she was so sad and likely to cry: "Everyone around me was pure devastation, and that’s why I couldn’t leave the house, because I knew if someone said to me 'are you okay Dani' I’d just cry.

"And everyone is so kind and lovely and I could probably stand in the street and cry. But for me mentally, it’s just been really testing my mental health."

Her actor dad Danny was on hand to offer support as he told his daughter: "What you’ve got to do is, which you have, is pull up them big girl knickers, and we f****** get on with it, because up to this point it’s been an incredible year. You’ve done some amazing stuff.”

Dani's "incredible year" has included getting married to West Ham footballer Jarrod Bowen in May. "We've really really bonded over this injury because Jarrod can actually... he gets it," Dani revealed.

"With your feet, and sending me for scans, he really wants my foot to heal in the correct way." As Dani recovers, her Strictly journey may not be over as she said her "door is open" to making a return next year.

It wouldn't be the first time a contestant makes a comeback as Jamie Laing was forced to pull out before the live shows due to an injury. He was able to join the line-up for the following year.

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