I'm A Celebrity star having 'tough time' as he issues health update after major surgery
EXCLUSIVE: I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! star Matty Lee was forced to pull out of the 2024 Paris Olympics after having surgery on his spine.
I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! star Matty Lee issued a health update following major surgery.
The 26-year-old, who appeared on ITV series in 2021, won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 alongside Tom Daley in the men’s synchronised 10m platform.
Sadly, the athlete was forced to pull out of the 2024 Paris Olympics after undergoing spinal surgery in March. Representing Team GB will now be Tom and Noah Williams, who won silver in the World Championships in February.
Matty is back on his feet three months post-surgery, but confessed it's been hard to watch his two diving partners take part in the Olympics without him.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk at the National Film Awards, Matty said: "It's been three months since surgery. I'm doing well. Obviously I'm gutted to miss out on the Olympics and it's been a really tough time."
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He continued: "Watching my two ex-synchro partners do synchro together hurts a lot, but at the end of the day, they had to do it because I can't. But it's all good now. I'm actually going to go out to Paris and watch them compete."
Despite the setback, Matty admitted he has managed to look on the bright side, adding: "I always try and turn negatives into positives because I'm able to do other things. I went to Wimbledon yesterday.
"That's the first time I've ever been. Normally I'm training for the Olympics so it's been quite nice to do some fun stuff." Matty is currently in rehab and is hoping to return to full fitness in the near future.
He explained: "I'm in rehab, so I'm still training theoretically, but it's not full time at all. I'm hoping that in the next three months I'll be fully fit and ready to go."
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Back in March, Matty announced that he underwent spinal surgery. Alongside a photo of him in a hospital gown, Matty wrote on Instagram: "A week ago today I went under for a discectomy on my L5/S1 disc in my spine.
"The surgery went well but my surgeon told me my nerve was very stuck and it took longer than expected to remove my bulging disc without damaging my nerve. He also told me it wouldn’t have got better on its own so to have the surgery was the right decision."
Matty continued: "What this means for me this year is self-explanatory which is very sad but the reason I look so happy in hospital is that I’m no longer in chronic pain, we’ve found a solution and I have something to work on. This season so far has been really tough, felt like I’ve been dragging myself through the dirt.
He added: "In a weird way I’ve been put out my misery but it’s also forced me to look after myself and that’s what’s important."