Maura Higgins Sustains Painful Neck Injury During DWTS Rehearsals

Maura Higgins, a contestant on the current season of "Dancing With The Stars," has sustained a painful neck injury during rehearsals. The "Love Island UK" star has revealed that the pain has been progressively worsening as the competition advances.

Footage shown during the show's Tuesday night episode depicted Higgins in distress on the floor as medics attended to her. The incident occurred while she was training for her fifth performance, a Tango set to Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)." Higgins was seen wincing and clutching her neck before falling to the ground, prompting her professional partner, Mark Ballas, and a medic to assist her.

Higgins explained to the cameras that she had been experiencing a "twinge in the left side of my neck" and expressed concern that the injury was becoming more severe and could jeopardize her live performance.

Despite the injury, Higgins and Ballas delivered a strong performance during "Super Bowl Night," earning a score of 33 out of 40. The pairing placed second on the leaderboard, behind Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy. Judges praised the routine, with Bruno Tonioli calling it "thrilling from start to finish" and describing Higgins as "supremely elegant." Carrie Ann Inaba noted it as a "beautiful performance" but suggested some movements could be more punctuated. Derek Hough commented on the elegance of the dance but pointed out that Higgins' neck position during a specific move, the contra check, went too far back and disrupted her spinal line.

Following the performance, Higgins provided an update on her condition, acknowledging that the neck pain had been ongoing for several weeks. She thanked the show's physiotherapist, Dr. Gina Minchella, for her assistance. "My neck is – you know, it's been playing up for weeks and it just seems to be getting worse, but good on Gina; [she] took a look at me. Her and her magic hands," Higgins told co-host Julianne Hough. She added that she is focusing on her stretches and taking care of the injury, stating, "it's just something that I'm gonna have to deal with."

At the close of "Super Bowl Night," Higgins and Ballas secured second place. The night also saw a tie for first place between Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy, and Paralympian Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach. The episode marked the elimination of Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson, who had the lowest score of the night.