Gladiator Sabre details horror injury: ‘My hamstring went pop’

‘Gladiators’ star Sabre's hamstring “went pop” during a shock injury she suffered while filming the show.

The 35-year-old athlete was forced to pull out of filming on the revamped BBC programme after sustaining a brutal injury to her leg last summer, which left her hospitalised.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk, she said: “My hamstring went pop.

“It happens, we put ourselves in these combat situations and we’ve worked really hard over a long period of time, and I feel like it was just the position I was in, the power I was putting into my leg.

“As an athlete, I’m no stranger to injury, it’s because we’re pushing our limits to get to that next level, that doesn’t come without risk.

“And rehab went really well, I’ve had so much support from the physio in Gladiators, and a lot of people up here, professionals, have helped me, physios and chiropractors.”

While she was out of action, Sabre - whose real name is Sheli McCoy - said it was her goal “to be back on [her] own two feet at a really high intensity functional capacity of training".

Fortunately, the athlete achieved her goal and is back on her feet, but the ‘Gladiators’ star conceded she wasn’t “quite there yet” with her condition.

She explained: “I haven’t ventured into long distance running, I’m not quite there yet, but I’m doing shorter distances, taking plenty of time and listening to my body, and giving myself enough time, there’s no rush.”

Fellow Gladiator Comet - real name Ella-Mae Rayner - also picked up an injury, breaking her ankle and foot in multiple places, as well as dislocating a bone.