BRITNEY Spears has potentially a long road ahead of her to fully get back on her feet following her ankle injury.
The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal that the pop star – who injured her ankle earlier this week during a heated fight with her boyfriend, Paul Soliz – appears to have a “lateral ankle sprain,” according to a podiatrist expert not connected to the star.
Following the incident, Britney, 42, shared graphic videos of her swollen ankle on Instagram to “show proof” of her injury.
Upon observing the videos online, a podiatrist from Harley Medical Foot and Nail Clinic in London, United Kingdom, spoke to The U.S. Sun about the possible extent of the damage.
“It looks like Britney Spears may have had a lateral ankle sprain,” the expert suspected.
“She indicated in the report that she landed on her foot weirdly or funny. It’s common for the foot to invert when there is a lateral ankle sprain.
Read More on Britney Spears
“It goes over and inwards, and that is very consistent,” they continued, before noting that Britney’s injury is “really common,” especially given how it happened.
“You can either land on it really funnily by jumping or tripping. Usually, you have swelling and pain on the outside or the lateral aspect of the foot.
“There is also usually pain in movement when you move the foot. It hurts quite a bit when you have a severe ankle sprain,” the podiatrist explained.
A LONG RECOVERY?
Despite it being a common occurrence, the expert warned that Britney could experience more issues if the wound doesn’t heal properly.
“The issue is that if a lateral ankle sprain doesn’t mend properly, it creates a kind of foot instability. If you have an ankle injury, you can have a high-low ankle sprain injury,” they went on.
“You can also have peroneal tendonitis or a peroneal tendon injury or injure your deltoid ligaments, which are the area around the front of the ankle. You can also fracture the bones around the ankle area,” the podiatrist added.
They further explained that there are three grades of an ankle injury, and Britney’s doesn’t appear to be the least severe.
“It’s really hard to tell without seeing how Britney is walking or [having] further information of how badly [it hurts], but it’s definitely not a grade one (the least severe). It’s likely to be a grade two,” meaning there’s “some destruction of the ligaments with a bit of swelling and moderate pain.”
The expert then said that further examination, including MRI scans and other testing, would be necessary to determine the severity of Britney’s injury.
They said, for now, “the main thing is really to rest it, ice it, put anti-inflammatory [medicine] on it, and elevate the foot to reduce swelling.”
Britney Spears’ conservatorship timeline
In September 2021, Britney’s case returned to a Los Angeles courtroom where Judge Brenda Penny made a number of bombshell rulings, following her father’s decision to end the conservatorship the month prior.
She ruled to rid Jamie of his daughter’s conservatorship, however, it did not mean the end of the conservatorship altogether.
Speaking in court, Judge Brenda Penny said: “Based on what I read in the filings, and I read everything. I do believe the suspension of Jamie Spears is in the best interest of Britney Spears.
“The current situation is unattainable. The court finds the toxic environment Jamie Spears has created needs to be removed today.”
Following the judge’s decision, a temporary conservator was put in Jamie’s place for about a month.
In early November 2021, Jamie was back in court filing new legal documents that show he’s done fighting.
Jamie had previously demanded $2 million in exchange for stepping down but documents at the time showed that he was not seeking any further compensation.
On November 12, Judge Penny ruled in favor of the pop star, removing Jamie from the position of conservator without requiring any further mental examination from Britney.
The podiatrist also suggested that the Stronger singer take Ibuprofen and painkillers to lessen her discomfort, and she might need to stay off her foot while she’s on the mend.
However, they said the real test would be later, as the mother of two might need other, more extensive treatments.
“If there is severe damage, Britney may need bone reconstruction or tendon transfers. These would need to be done by a podiatric surgeon.”
The expert furthered, “Grade two, hopefully, with resting, icing, compression, elevation, taking painkillers, Ibuprofen, and then [undergoing] rehabilitation, Britney’s ankle and foot will be back to normal and with full function.
“If the ankle sprain is severe, with ligament dislocation and breaking of bones and things like that, then it would need more time for rehabilitation,” they concluded.
‘IT’S SO BAD’
Britney revealed how her injury happened in the comments of her Instagram post, where she shared the videos.
“I really twisted my ankle last night like an idiot just to show proof. Don’t look at my feet I need a manicure,” the entertainer wrote.
“It’s so bad. F***ing idiot here tries to do a leap in the living room at the Chateau and I fell, embarrassed myself and that’s it.
“Paramedics came to my door illegally, of course, caused this huge scene which was so unnecessary and all I needed was ice.
“It is actually pretty bad but s**t happens.”
Britney also praised her lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, for “getting her through” her injury while blaming her mother, Lynn, who she claimed called her immediately after the incident.
THE INCIDENT
TMZ previously reported that Britney got into a fight with her boyfriend and that a woman matching the star’s description was supposedly harassing and threatening the hotel employees and its guests.
The incident happened Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
Fans expressed their concern for Britney – who was released from her 13-year-long conservatorship in 2021 – and her mental health on social media.
“Get someone to look at that injured ankle, please!” one person begged on X, formerly Twitter.
“It’s horrible that Britney needs extensive mental health treatment, likely inpatient, but she feels so betrayed and understandably terrified of mental health services she won’t seek help.
“It’s just got disaster all written over it; it’s so scary,” another person wrote in an online thread.
A third said, “I really feel for her and want her to be happy. Her family and fame have clearly caused her deep trauma, but she also clearly isn’t mentally stable.”