Injured ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy Says Alan Bersten’s ‘Officially Fired’ As Of Week 6

He’s back! Maksim Chmerkovskiy is making his return to the “Dancing With the Stars” ballroom in Season 24, Week 6.

The professional dancer, who’s been out for about a month with a calf injury, revealed during Monday’s show that he’ll be back to dancing with Heather Morris next week. He joked that his replacement Alan Bersten was “officially fired.” His return comes after a few weeks of being sidelined and serving as Team Maksimum Heat’s choreographer.

“I’m taking over as of tonight,” he said.

Although Maks jokes about Alan’s firing, he’s been grateful to the “DWTS” troupe member throughout his healing process. Maks said on Monday that he was incredibly proud of what Heather and Alan had done during their Disney night performance, telling host Erin Andrews that Alan “didn’t let me down.” As for his partner, Maks appeared to be beaming with pride.

“I thought that Heather did an amazing performance,” he said.

Maks has been transparent with fans, sharing regular injury updates on social media and during episodes of “DWTS.” He faced a few minor setbacks, expecting to make “a full comeback” in Week 5, but hasn’t let anything slow his stride. Future wife Peta Murgatryod told ET Online she expected him to be back in Week 5 or 6, admitting that it was “nice” to have him on the set again.

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“It was nice having him here. He’s going to be back soon I think...I don’t know if he’ll be dancing next week, but the next week after he will definitely be dancing,” she said.

After his injury, Maks shared several social media posts with fans that detailed his recovery. In one video, he strut down a straight away as if he were never injured. Days prior he surprised Heather and Alan via video call during their appearance on “Good Morning America,” promising to come back in a major way to “DWTS.”

“I still feel like we have a chance,” he said. “You deserve it and I want to give you 150 percent effort and be physically active as I was at my best when nothing hurt. I want to come back and win.”

Tune in to “DWTS” Season 24, Week 6 for Maks’ valiant return to the ballroom.