Maksim Chmerkovskiy's Calf Injury Is 'a Lot Worse Than Everyone Initially Thought,' Source Says
Maksim Chmerkovskiy is doing everything he can to get back to the ballroom.
The 37-year-old Dancing With the Stars pro star has been sidelined in the competition due to a calf injury, and will also miss week three of the competition. Chmerkovskiy's reps tell ET that he's currently in recovery, and the procedure he underwent to repair his calf injury went well.
However, a source tells ET that Chmerkovskiy tore his calf muscle "pretty badly," and that he's gotten a series of shots to help recover.
WATCH: Maksim Chmerkovskiy Snaps Selfie Ahead of Calf Procedure: 'Gettin' Unbroken'
"He told everyone he will be back in a couple of weeks but that isn't true, it's a lot worse than everyone initially thought," the source says. "Doctors are insisting that Maks sit out for at least a month, but knowing Maks he will try and rush it and get back into the competition."
On Wednesday, Chmerkovskiy snapped a selfie in a hospital bed in Ashtabula, Ohio, where he's being treated by Dr. William Seeds -- the same doctor who treated fellow DWTS pro Sharna Burgess when she got hurt last season. Seeds has also treated Chmerkovskiy's fiancee, Peta Murgatroyd, and fellow dancer Keo Motsepe.
"Gettin' un-broken," he wrote.
Chmerkovskiy suffered a calf injury during rehearsals with his partner, Glee star Heather Morris, ahead of Monday's show. In video of the injury, he gives an audible cry of pain in the middle of their jive routine and says "something went down."
Murgatroyd told ET backstage at DWTS on Monday night that the injury was a "freak accident."
"His calf just popped, it was very weird," she said.
But Burgess, who underwent stem cell procedures with Dr. Seeds, tells ET that Chmerkovskiy couldn't be in better hands.
"He is absolutely amazing," she says of the Ohio-based doctor. "He is an orthopedic surgeon that just has a gift with healing people. I would never [have] got back to James [Hinchcliffe] in two weeks if it wasn’t for him."
Watch the video below to see Chmerkovskiy's fellow DWTS dancers give an update on his health.
-- Reporting by Angelique Jackson and Jennifer Peros
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