Former Towie star Mark Wright has pulled out of the London Marathon after sustaining an injury.
The TV star, 34, said he is ‘absolutely gutted,’ but had no choice but to make that decision after tearing a muscle.
The football pundit shared videos on Instagram from an appointment with a physio, who assessed his calf muscle ahead of the big race on Sunday.
In the clip, the physio tells Mark he would advise him not to run on the injury, adding he could make it ‘much, much worse.’
Mark said the news is ‘devastating’ after he has put in so much ‘hard work’ in preparation for the event.
‘I went to the Running Show to pick up my race number the other day which made me even more excited for it, but after a scan the physio confirmed I have a grade two tear and there’s a big risk that if I ran on Sunday I could make it worse,’ he explained.
‘It’s hard to take, but of course I’m going to be down there on the day, cheering along all the runners.’
Refusing to be defeated, however, Mark said that his experience thus far has made him ‘want to run the marathon even more.’
‘I’m already looking towards next year to see if there’s a chance I can get involved,’ he said.
The London Marathon will take place on October 3 and will see more than 40,000 runners return to the city’s streets for the first full-scale race in two years following the pandemic.
Some of the world’s best will take on the course, as well as famous faces.
West End star Carrie Hope Fletcher and former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss are among the celebrities who will be taking part, according to organisers.
Dame Barbara Windsor’s widower, Scott Mitchell, is also running in her memory and to fundraise for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
This year’s race will start off at Blackheath at 8:50am and live coverage will air on BBC.
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