Misty May-Treanor to have surgery Tuesday

Olympic gold medal-winning volleyball player Misty May-Treanor, 31, has been eliminated from ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," but not as a result of viewer votes. May-Treanor tore an Achilles tendon while rehearsing the Lindy Hop on Friday.

"It felt like I got hit in the back with a baseball bat," May-Treanor told show host Tom Bergeron. "I am out (of the show), but I am not out of cheering on the competitors and keeping in touch with everybody."

May-Treanor, wearing a cast on her left leg that ran almost to her knee, said she was scheduled for surgery on Tuesday.

Referring to a torn ligament that led her to have surgery in 2002, she said she had come back from one serious injury, and "(I) know that with this injury, I'm going to come back even stronger." She also expressed interest in one day returning to the show to perform the jive, the dance she had been scheduled to perform Monday night.

After just two weeks of competition, May-Treanor was already establishing herself as a dancer to watch, scoring 21 points and landing near the top of the pack each week. Her "Dancing" partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, called her "a born winner."

E! Online reported that May-Treanor's exit could mean the return of reality TV star Kim Kardashian, who was voted off last week. This was not discussed on Monday's show, but show co-host Samantha Harris said Tuesday's show would address how the competition would continue.

This has been an injury-plagued season for the hit dance show. Insult comic Jeffrey Ross, the first dancer eliminated, wore an eyepatch after suffering a scratched cornea during a rehearsal. Professional dancer Karina Smirnoff, partnered with chef Rocco DiSpirito, twisted her ankle before any episodes had aired. Professional dancer Derek Hough, partnered with Brooke Burke, briefly blacked out after tripping at rehearsal. And soap-opera diva Susan Lucci danced Monday night with a bandaged ankle.