Greg Rutherford hints at a return to the rink 'next year' as the Olympic legend admits he is 'very keen' to get his skates back on after shocking Dancing On Ice injury

Greg Rutherford has revealed that he is 'very keen' to get back out on the ice after being ruled out of the Dancing On Ice final with a horror injury. 

The legendary Olympian was one of the favourites to go all the way in this year's edition of the competition, but suffered a shocking injury to his abdomen in the lead up to the showpiece spectacle. 

The athlete later revealed he 'effectively gave myself a C-section' after he tore his abs when he tried to skate through the legs of professional Colin Grafton. 

He took to social media last week to reveal the extent of the injuries, including the scar from his surgery, and an 'insane swelling' following the procedure. 

Yet despite little under six weeks passing since sustaining the injury, Rutherford admitted to Mail Sport that he was chomping at the bit to get back out on his skates and even hinted at a potential return next year.

'We had a double twist ready for the final, and all these things that could've gone down as iconic moments of that show,' he revealed to Mail Sport. 

'We're going to lobby to come back and do one skate on the show, which would be nice maybe next year!

'As soon as my torso can hold me up properly without there being aches and pains, because sadly ice is very, very slippery and if you get it wrong you will cause injuries as I did, so I've got to let this heal a bit more.

'I am keen to get back on the ice. It's really interesting I did strictly back in 2016 and never danced again but skating - I just love it, I absolutely love it and I'm very keen to do it again.'

Rutherford is no stranger to injuries having seen his exceptional career in athletics pockmarked by fitness issues which eventually led to him hanging up his spikes for good. 

The 37-year-old is one of only five athletes to have ever won Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth gold medals in their event - and the only one to have added the Diamond League to that already illustrious list. 

For nine months between September 2015 and June 2016 he in fact held every single elite title in long jump simultaneously in a vastly impressive feat of overall track and field dominance. 

However in 2018 his career was brought to a close through injuries, which would also put an end to his Winter Olympic dream of representing Team GB in the bobsleigh. 

'I got injured plenty of times before majors and things, during majors as well,' he added. 'I was lucky that from London 2012 for a couple of years things went quite well but previously and after it, things had gone very wrong in those situations. 

'Of course it was my job and my livelihood to jump into a sandpit as ridiculous at it still sounds, but it was and it was such an important thing for me so that's years and years of training to a moment that ends in complete disaster is really hard to take. 

'Of course the show, it was really hard to take because we worked so hard but you have to put that into perspective more. Five months before I couldn't skate at all to now being able to sort of do the things that we were doing, but it's still gutting, absolutely gutting. 

'It was then knowing that I had to have surgery again and rehab and all the things you think you've put behind you from retiring from sport to then have to go out there and have my stomach cut open - it's not what I was hoping to have.

'Maybe the one advantage is that I've had surgeries and things before, so I met it with a solid head and "let's just go get it done" and here we are nearly four weeks on, and I'm feeling a lot more positive.'

While his history as one of the country's best ever long jumpers left him well-placed to deal with the setbacks that injury can throw up, it also granted him further benefits when it came to gearing up for Dancing On Ice. 

As an Olympic athlete - and a budding professional footballer before that - Rutherford has spent thousands and thousands of hours getting himself in shape for global events, majors and competitions throughout his career - something that he benefited from hugely ahead of the competition.

But it was not just the physical side of things, 'dropping weight' as Rutherford mentions, but getting himself in the frame of mind to go out and compete week in, week out. 

'It is different but equally it's a similar mindset. When prepping for a Games, you're conscious of everything going on around you, and as that show developed and the training developed I became very much the same. 

'I had to drop a load of weight again, be fit and strong, I had to learn to hold another human above my head which me and Vanessa did a lot of, throw her, do all these sort of things so you're taking on board the safety of someone else on the ice which was an amazing thing to do.

'All of that, the training load, what I'm eating and doing and sleeping, I sort of used what I had as an athlete, that mindset in order to get myself the best opportunity to do it and I thrived off it and I loved it, I genuinely loved it. 

'It reminded me of how much I loved being an athlete when I was an athlete. I don't want that life anymore, believe me it hurts too much but it's nice to have a goal set and work towards something and that's what I took from it. I'm post surgery now and I'm really keen to start training again and that's a nice place to be both mentally and physically, it's really important.'

The British Olympic legend was speaking to Mail Sport at a special synchronised swimming display in Covent Garden to mark 100 days until the start of the Paris Games this summer, courtesy of official hospitality partner On Location. 

'It's really exciting for anyone who's looking to go and watch the Olympics. It's the best opportunity, the different sort of areas that you can access, the whole packages being put together makes it a lot easier to navigate. 

'London 2012 was the last European Olympics, and it was very much a ballot in getting yourself there, but On Location have put together some packages which suit nearly all budgets out there in order to get people to watch what is the greatest spectacle in the world.

'You bring together some of the greatest sports, put it on every four years, there is nothing better than an Olympic games so the fact that it's accessible to pretty much everybody, I think that's a really special thing.'

Packages through On Location, the official and exclusive Hospitality provider for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, are available HERE.