Legend Gladiators Reveals Brutal Recovery after Horror Injury
Matt Morsia will still bring the pantomime to Series 3 of Gladiators, despite picking up a horror injury while filming for the show.
Legend, who’s become a Marmite character for his arrogant, self-obsessed persona, recently underwent surgery after tearing his distal bicep tendon off the bone.
The “freak accident” occurred while tackling a fellow contender to the ground during preparations for the latest edition of the cult favourite, which will return to BBC One on Saturday nights in 2026.
“The injury was nobody’s fault,” he said via his YouTube channel, MattDoesFitness. “It’s just a freak accident. I’ve done that game almost 20 times and never had a problem before.
“But, at the same time, that’s the reality of Gladiators. That’s what makes it the best show on TV. It’s intense, it’s real, and with that you’re going to get injuries, just like any other sport.
“I won’t lie, I was obviously pretty devastated. Gladiators is my dream — it’s what I was put on this earth to do.
“It’s literally the best job in the world, in my opinion. Knowing I wasn’t going to be able to compete in the games anymore killed me.
“But the medical staff and production team were absolutely immense.
“They looked after me really well, and once I had the scan and the surgery booked in, I was able to stay involved in the series in a non-competitive way, which is an absolute result.
“An absolute result for you guys because, let’s be honest, I’m the best thing about the show.
“Sorry, I just slip into it sometimes.”
Legend Gladiators: Post-Surgery Complications
While Legend’s surgery to anchor the tendon back to the bone was a success, he soon started to experience severe post-operative sickness.
Morsia — who’s also a Huel and Gymshark-sponsored athlete — began vomiting after every meal, dropping from the ‘best shape of his life’ at 97kg to 82kg due to what was later diagnosed as acute gastritis and oesophagitis.
The star spent almost two weeks at Sheffield General Hospital in what he described as the ‘worst ordeal of his life’.
“I didn’t put a single bit of food in my mouth for 12 days,” he added. “I feel like half the person I was.”
The condition caused him to hiccup for almost 24 hours a day, eight days straight, while being unable to stand without feeling like fainting.
Thankfully, Legend Gladiators is now back home and recovering with his family. The muscleman is slowly reintroducing foods like yoghurt, porridge, mashed potatoes and mashed veg as he looks to start putting weight back on.
Ironically, Morsia, who was a powerlifter and former PE teacher before finding internet fame, says his bicep is healing well.
Doctors have advised waiting six weeks to allow the anchor to fuse with the bone before restarting training, ruling him out from any high-octane Gladiators challenges for the foreseeable future.
Although he described the injury as “nothing” compared to the ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered three years ago.
Legend Gladiators is just one of three Saturday night superheroes who’ve shared news online of injuries since filming for Series 3 began.
Diamond and Bionic are also recovering from knocks sustained during games.
Gladiators returned to the nation’s TV sets in 2024 following the revival of the iconic ITV original series.
It quickly became a Saturday night sensation, averaging 5.3m viewers, with nearly two-fifths streaming on demand — making it the most-watched Saturday night series on BBC iPlayer and the third most-watched entertainment series overall.
