Exclusive

Derek Hough Is "Healing Quickly," but Will He Be Able to Return to DWTS This Season?

Exclusive: Derek and Nastia sound off on receiving a perfect score for their trio routine on Monday night's episode of ABC's reality hit

By Tierney Bricker May 05, 2015 6:15 PMTags
Watch: Derek Hough Gives an Injury Update

Leave it to Derek Hough to land a perfect score even when he's injured!

Derek, his celeb dancer Nastia Liukin and trio partner Sasha Farber received a perfect 40 from the judges for their jive on Dancing With the Stars', with the injured Derek inventively finding a way to be a part of the routine without fully dancing. Impressive, right?

But ever so gracious, Derek, who is recovering from a sprained ankle and a broken toe, downplayed his role, telling E! News' Maria Menounos, "I  wouldn't call it dancing. I would call it stepping cautiously!"

So can fans expect to see Derek go from stepping to fully dancing again in the semi-finals, should he and Nastia (who has been competing with Sasha since Derek's injury) survive the dreaded double elimination? 

Like his stepping-style, Derek is cautiously optimistic, telling us, "I'm not quite there yet. I'm getting there. I'm slowly getting there!"

"I'm healing quickly," he continued. "This is the time were you have false security, so you're like, ‘Oh yeah, I can do it. Oh wait, no, I'm out for eight months.' So I have to be very, very careful still. Slowly, but surely…I'm ahead of schedule as far as recovery."

Just as cautious as Derek? Nastia, who admitted she's been afraid to further injure him during rehearsals. "I'm scared...to like step on his feet or his toe and I get so close sometimes," she said. "It's a little scary!"

To hear more from Derek and Nastia, press play on our interview with them above!

DWTS airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.