‘Dancing with the Stars 16’: Karina Smirnoff to dance with Jacoby Jones despite injury

Ever since Dorothy Hamill became the first contestant to leave “Dancing with the Stars” this season due to an injury, a pretty interesting phenomenon has taken hold: Everyone else who has suffered an injury on the show has, for the most part, been a professional dancer. Mark Ballas was nearly forced to sit out a show with Aly Raisman after injuring himself during rehearsals, and Karina Smirnoff already had a pretty scary situation that caused her to be taken to the hospital.

We do still have news here worth smiling about: Karina (often one of the show’s tougher pros and bigger personalities) will probably be just fine. While a rep for the show tells People Magazine that a pro may be substituted in for Karina at the last minute in order to perform her Lindy hop routine with NFL star Jacoby Jones, she is probably going to be able to perform with just a few modifications to ensure that she does not stretch her injury further.

As to what is wrong with Karina in the first place, she suffered a severe twist to her neck and whiplash during a rehearsal with Jones on Sunday. This means that she’ll probably be in a whole heap of pain if she does end up hitting the stage with Jacoby (which we more than expect her to still do).

There will be glitter and goofy comments on Monday night’s “Dancing with the Stars,” but there will also be intensity. There are only four spots left for the show next week, and we’re at the point in the season where there are no duds to be dog piled by the judges. We do still think, however, that Kellie Pickler’s the universal pick to take it home.

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Photo: ABC