Daniella Karagach Injury, What Happened to the Dancing With the Stars Pro?
Dancing With the Stars’ Daniella Karagach has revealed that she will be postponing her start date for the upcoming live tour due to an injury. The fan-favorite pro, who placed second with partner Jason Mraz this season, announced the news on her Instagram Story on Dec. 13.
“I just wanted to give you a little update. As you have probably seen, I’m injured. I’m so excited for this tour and want to make sure I give it my all every time I dance on stage. In order to do that, I have to heal properly before going on the road,” she wrote. “I will unfortunately be missing the first month of tour. While I’m healing, the absolutely incredible @alexis_warr will be there in my place. I’ll be joining the @dwtstourofficial tour starting in early February! I’m so excited to come out and dance again. Can’t wait to see you all there.”
Karagach had been dealing with injuries throughout Season 32 but managed to persevere her way to the finale with Mraz. During Week 5, she suffered a sprained ankle and required some TLC from her husband, pro dancer Pasha Pashkov. “This is what our Tue night post-show looked like,” Pashkov captioned a photo of himself icing Karagach’s foot. “Had Chick-fil-A in bed while watching DWTS & icing Dani’s ankle and prepping a cabbage wrap to reduce swelling.”
The injury was a possible flair up from a previous injury Karagach suffered in 2022. Months after she won the Mirrorball Trophy with her Season 30 partner Iman Shumpert, the dancer was forced to end her time on the live tour after breaking her ankle. She shared a photo of herself leaving the hospital in a wheelchair with Pashkov by her side. In the shot, her left foot was wrapped in a cast and she held crutches in her right hand.
“Well, this was definitely not the way I thought tour would end but I’m grateful for the time I had. This was truly a special experience for me and I’ve had the best time being a part of this immensely talented cast. I love my @dancingabc fam so much and I know you guys will keep kicking a–!! 🥺💜,” she wrote in the caption. Karagach later revealed on her Instagram Story that she broke her ankle after doing a scissor kick and landing wrong during their second-to-last number on stage. Like with this upcoming tour, DWTS troupe member Alexis Warr filled in for her.
Karagach welcomed her first child with Pashkov on May 30, 2023: a daughter named Nikita. Season 32 marked her first season as a mother and the pro dancer believes the changes in her body may have made her more susceptible to injuries. She reflected on the particularly grueling season on her Instagram Story. “This season was craaaaazzzyyyyyy when it came to injuries,” she wrote. “I heard when breastfeeding your hormones are out of wack and you are more susceptible to injury. From spraining my ankle week 5 to dislocating my thumb last week and also flaring up my ankles it was a gnarly season for me. I’m super grateful to the Dr’s who saw me and to DWTS for always making sure I was always taken care of.”
While some fans were bummed to learn she wouldn’t make the first half of the tour, many were supportive of her decision to stay home. “Phew! Glad she’s resting I was worried about her!” one fan wrote in a Reddit threat about Karagach’s announcement. Another wrote, “Hope she recovers well! praying she makes a recovery in time for the Canada dates 🫶🏼.” A third fan commented: “Glad that she’s taking it easy, she’s earned a LOT of rest after everything that she’s accomplished this year.”
For more on Dancing With the Stars, check out this gallery on the Dancing With the Stars pros’ children.
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