Sam Smith Details 'Awful' Skiing Accident: 'Couldn't Walk for a Month'

07/22/2024 07:33 AM

"I got taken down in a blood bag. It was the worst," said the singer, who tore their ACL during the incident

Sam Smith is opening up about the perils of winter sports!

In an episode of the Sidetracked with Annie and Nickpodcast, released on July 18, Smith — who uses they/them pronouns — revealed that they couldn't walk for a month after tearing their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a skiing accident earlier this year.

Back in January, Smith was pictured with a brace on their leg and holding a walking stick as they walked in Soho in New York City.

"I completely ripped my ACL. I was skiing. I was an idiot and went on a black slope on the second day," the 32-year-old said. "I got taken down in a blood bag. It was the worst. It's a permanent thing."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Related: Sam Smith Reveals They Almost Recorded a 'Well-Known' Hit Song Ultimately Released by Justin Bieber

"It's in between your bones and helps you jump and spring around. It completely ripped and I decided to go down the non-surgical route but I couldn't walk for a month on this leg and it was awful," the singer continued. 

The musician added, "It was the first time I'd ever not been able to move and I was holding onto a bit of weight. I was very anxious. I used it as an excuse to get my s--- together."

According to the Mayo Clinic, an ACL injury is "a tear or sprain of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) — one of the strong bands of tissue that help connect your thigh bone (femur) to your shinbone (tibia)."

Related: Sam Smith Commands the Runway at Vivienne Westwood Show During Paris Fashion Week — See the Looks!

Smith also revealed on the podcast that they recently got a new phone due to needing a U.S. number and wanting to cleanse their contacts list of their exes' numbers.

"I actually just got rid of my phone and I got a new phone. It's the first time I don't have my library of music that I'd had since I was like 11," Smith said. "I started again, fully started again. I needed an American number and my phone was just full of people like exes and all these different people through the years." 

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

But the musician didn't stop the cleansing at their contacts list and also removed social media apps from their phone. "And I took social media off. Everything. It's crazy. I find myself sitting on benches now in parks just looking at the trees," they added.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.