Injured Jewel Might Not Shine on Dancing Floor

Wed., Feb. 25, 2009 4:31 PM PST by Natalie Finn

CRAIG SJODIN/ABC

Has Dancing With the Stars already suffered its first calamity, two weeks before its premiere?

Jewel, who along with hubby Ty Murray is supposed to be competing on the hit ABC series starting March 9, might not be fit to fox-trot because of tendinitis in her knees.

"Yuck! It's mainly my left knee, and I can't believe I hurt it so badly," the singer wrote on her blog Wednesday. "Ty warned me I was over doing it, and now he got a big ol' 'I told you so' in."

Rest assured, however, Jewel isn't going down without a fight.

"Yes it is true I have had a minor setback in my training for Dancing With the Stars, but I am dedicated to getting better and showing the judges and America that I can cha cha with the best of them," she said in a statement to E! News. "Don't count me out as I am in this for the long run."

And to think, she seemed so concerned just hours ago.

"It was just so fun to dance 8 hours a day—especially considering I only had 3 weeks to cram not only for my first dance—cha cha, but to learn the fundamentals of about 6 other dances that I will have to know," Jewel wrote. "But now I'm just worried I won't even be able to dance! Hopefully these steroids will really do the trick and I can keep bad flare ups at a bay in the future."

She was also ordered to stop rehearsals for a couple of days.

"I have my first rehab appointment today, so I will see what that's like," she continued. "Hopefully it helps the pain. Ty said 'Slow and steady will win the race...' sage advice, but my Russian partner and I have the same work ethic and our motto has been "ATTACK!!"

Sounds as if former So You Think You Can Dance finalist and DWTS newcomer Dmitry Chaplin will be losing quite the disciplined partner—and the show will be losing quite the competitor—if Jewel isn't able to dance.

Murray has been paired up with Chelsie Hightower, another DWTS newbie and a top-six finisher on last summer's SYTYCD.

Not that Jewel's bad knees are the first sign that DWTS is gearing up for another season. Veteran pro Karina Smirnoff had surgery earlier this month to repair a torn meniscus, and Mark Ballas was sidelined in December with a groin strain, both injuries suffered during the Dancing tour.