Actor Cristian de la Fuente, who suffered an injury to his left arm on Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars, is being evaluated by a physician this morning, his rep Cynthia Snyder tells PEOPLE.
Whether he returns to the show will remain a mystery for a few more hours. At the request of producer Conrad Green, all cast and crew have been asked not to discuss de la Fuente’s condition, Snyder says. Instead, Dancing host Tom Bergeron will update viewers on his prognosis on tonight’s live results show.
The soap opera-like suspense adds to the real-life drama viewers witnessed last night. De la Fuente experienced extreme pain in his left arm while performing the samba with partner Cheryl Burke on Monday’s live telecast.
During the long commercial break following his injury, de la Fuente was doubled over, clutching his left arm. EMTs packed his arm in ice and he appeared on-air again briefly to receive the judges’ scores for his performance. Minutes after that, de la Fuente was taken to Cedars Sinai Hospital for evaluation and was released at approximately 7:30 p.m., his rep says.
Dancer Edyta Sliwinska was upset that de la Fuente tried to continue dancing while in pain, and that the whole ordeal was captured by the show’s cameras.
“I thought if he wasn’t able to finish the dance he must be seriously hurting so I thought someone should just take him,” Sliwinska said. “Why do they keep filming it and keep him on the floor? I just thought that was wrong.”
She and all of de la Fuente’s fellow competitors are rooting for his return.
“He’s doing so well and we don’t want to see a competitor leave because of an injury like that,” Kristi Yamaguchi said. “He’s had military training. I think he’s pretty tough so I’m sure if it’s in his power to be back, he’ll be back”.
“He and I have become kindred spirits,” Marissa Jaret Winokur says. “I don’t think any of us really cares about scores. We just want him to come back.” –Monica Rizzo
Kelsey McNeal/ABC
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