Maksim Chmerkovskiy is returning to the ballroom! The professional dancer announced on Monday, April 17, that he will make his long-awaited return to Dancing With the Stars next week.
Chmerkovskiy, 37, suffered a calf injury in late March while rehearsing for the second week of the ABC dance competition’s 24th season. Since then, he has been forced to watch from the sidelines as his celebrity partner, Glee alum Heather Morris, dances with troupe member Alan Bersten.
However, on Monday night’s episode, the Ukrainian hunk revealed that he will return to the show for the week 6 episode on Monday, April 24. “Alan’s officially fired!” he joked, after Morris, 30, and Bersten’s Frozen-themed jazz routine. “I’m taking over as of tonight.”
Chmerkovskiy has been sharing updates on his health on social media since undergoing surgery last month for his torn calf muscle. On April 1, he shared a video of himself walking down a hallway in the hospital. “Therapy day 3 post calf muscle tear, progress check,” he captioned the Instagram post, adding the hashtags #MyDocIsBetterThanYours and #ModernDayMiracles.
The DWTS season 18 champ is still hopeful about winning the coveted Mirrorball trophy. “I still feel like we have a chance,” he said on Good Morning America on March 31. “[Morris deserves] it, and I want to give you 150 percent effort and be as physically active as I was at my best when nothing hurt. I want to come back and win.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
