Will Bayley will be "devastated" if his 'Strictly Come Dancing' injury rules him out of next year's Paralympics.
Will Bayley
The table tennis champion was forced to quit the BBC Latin and ballroom show last night (30.10.19) after doctors ruled he couldn't continue due to his anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee, which he suffered when he fell last Saturday (26.10.19) and was ruled out of that evening's show.
But he is desperate to be fit in time for Tokyo 2020.
He said: "If I have to miss Tokyo it would be devastating. I'm at the top of my career. I've played four major tournaments this season and I've won three gold medals. I'm the best player in the world at the moment.
"So this is just massively scary to have this injury at this moment. It's only just starting to sink in.
"I've got an ACL tear, so I have to wait six weeks and if it doesn't improve I may then need surgery, which could be six months out. I can't believe it."
Will admits the first thought he had when he fell was about the Paralympics - which take place from August 25th to September 6th 2020 - and he has been in "agony" with the injury.
He said: "I'm so gutted. I was just in total shock. It has been a traumatic four days for me.
"I knew I had felt my knee pop and I was in agony. I'm not going to lie, the second I landed and felt it I thought 'Tokyo' but thought I'd get some physio, rest it for a day, and be back dancing next week.
"I can take pain, I've been in pain all my life, but I screamed in agony and the next day I couldn't do anything, so alarm bells started ringing."
Will - who has arthrogryposis in all four limbs, which resulted in operations to have his bones being broken and reset as a child - was glad the 'Strictly' judges didn't "feel sorry for [him]" throughout the series, but has questioned one of Craig Revel Horwood's comments about him being "too stiff", insisting there isn't much he can do about it.
He added to The Sun newspaper: "Craig said things to me like I should be improving, and I should have, but he also said I was too stiff.
"I mean I have no idea how I'm supposed to do that - I don't have any ankles, so obviously I can't do rise and fall."