Strictly star Montell Douglas's terrifying injury that left her unable to walk

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Montell Douglas, 38, was told she mightiness ne'er locomotion again aft a superior sporting sound backmost near her facing a terrifying operation

Montell Douglas is proving herself to beryllium a large rival connected Strictly Come Dancing, but 1 wounded earlier her ballroom stint astir near her vocation successful tatters.

Some fans thought the athlete's creation to Nobody Gets Me by SZA with nonrecreational spouse Johannes Radebe was undermarked past week, contempt scoring an awesome 33 points.

Montell, 38, has called being connected the amusement an "absolute imagination travel true" truthful she'll beryllium hoping to creation her mode to occurrence this week too.

And you wouldn't stake against her - portion Strictly is notoriously gruelling, the steely sprinter has faced pugnacious times successful her career, including a fearfulness wounded which near her incapable to locomotion for 3 months.

Back successful 2009, the erstwhile British grounds holder for the 100m astatine 11.05 seconds tore cartilage successful her genu which near her needing an operation. She was adjacent warned by her surgeon she mightiness ne'er locomotion again.

"My top situation came from erstwhile I had country connected my knee," she told Sport For Champions. "Following the surgery, I had to relearn however to walk, which enactment maine successful a hard situation.

"So galore of the things I could erstwhile bash were stripped distant from maine instantly. I overcame this by focussing connected what I had. I had a large enactment operation and a beardown content that I would bushed this and spell connected to vie again."

Montell threw everything astatine her physio sessions portion realising that recovering from her superior cognition would instrumentality time. Thankfully, her hard enactment paid off.

"I had to larn to locomotion again," she told the Mirror. "I was doing everything I could connected 1 leg. I was doing motorcycle sessions connected 1 leg. I was cleaning connected 1 leg. I was doing it due to the fact that I said: 'When this limb is acceptable to deed the ground, I volition beryllium ready'."

Just 10 months later, Montell returned to vie astatine the Commonwealth Games successful Delhi 2010 and won a golden medal successful the relay. She went onto power to Bobsleigh six years later, taking portion successful the 2022 Winter Olympics.

In doing so, she became the archetypal GB pistillate to vie successful some Summer and Winter Games.

The sportswoman adjacent turned to the BBC's remake of iconic amusement Gladiators, taking connected the relation of strongwoman Fire. "As a beardown and almighty woman, I'm surviving impervious that you tin execute your dreams, nary substance what property oregon background," she said. "If you judge and support pushing. I'm acceptable to airy up the competition!"

Now, Montell has taken up the Strictly situation and has been earnestly lighting up the dancefloor too. It remains to beryllium seen if the Glitterball Trophy could beryllium wrong her sights.