Stunt superstar Danny MacAskill ordered to 'rest and recover' after Edinburgh Festival Fringe show crash

Superstar cyclist Danny MacAskill has been forced to cancel several performances and scale back involvement in his Edinburgh Festival Fringe stunt spectacular after injuring himself in an on-stage crash.
Danny MacAskill made his Fringe debut this year in the Drop & Roll Show on the Meadows before suffering a knee injury.Danny MacAskill made his Fringe debut this year in the Drop & Roll Show on the Meadows before suffering a knee injury.
Danny MacAskill made his Fringe debut this year in the Drop & Roll Show on the Meadows before suffering a knee injury.

Doctors have ordered MacAskill to "rest and recover" from a knee injury sustained during his Drop and Roll Live show on the Meadows, one of the hottest Fringe tickets this month, ruling him out from performing his most dramatic tricks for the time being.

MacAskill, who has been forced to cancel three performances, has admitted a knee injury is more serious than first suspected and has apologised to his fans for letting them down.

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However the Skye-born YouTube star, who is making his debut appearance at the Fringe, has insisted he will still be involved in the show in some way, and will also be available afterwards for autographs and selfies.

Danny MacAskill has been forced to cancel three performances of his debut Fringe show on the Meadows.Danny MacAskill has been forced to cancel three performances of his debut Fringe show on the Meadows.
Danny MacAskill has been forced to cancel three performances of his debut Fringe show on the Meadows.

Promoters Underbelly have been forced to issue hundreds of refunds for the show, which had been selling out the Circus Hub arena, but is insisting that all future performances will go ahead, with another street trials, Ali Clarkson, joining the show.

MacAskill initially told his social media followers that he had "tweaked" his knee after an "annoying wee crash" and had been advised to take a day off "to prevent making things worse."

However, in a further statement, MacAskill said: "Unfortunately, after getting some scan results and meeting with the doctor things are a bit more serious that we had hoped."

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He said he was "so sorry" at having to cancel shows over the weekend and had added additional Saturday morning performances on 17 and 24 August to try to make up things up to his disappointed fans.

A spokeswoman for Underbelly said: "Unfortunately, Danny had an awkward landing during a recent performance which has resulted in a knee injury, after an MRI he’s been advised by doctors to rest and recover.

"The good news is, Drop and Roll will go ahead as planned and Danny will still be there every day, alongside fellow trials rider Duncan Shaw, and Alex orKriss on the BMX (equally jaw-dropping!).

"We’re delighted to announce that Ali Clarkson will be joining the Drop and Roll team from today. He is widely known as one the best street trials in the world with his smooth BMX influenced riding style. With the recent success of his YouTube vlog series, the Glasgow based athlete has become a real crowd favourite at previous Drop & Roll shows.

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"Audiences can still expect the same high energy show, featuring jaw-dropping stunts and gravity-defying tricks, and of course the whole team including Danny will be available after each show for signings and photos."

It is the second time that a major festival appearance by MacAskill has had to be scaled back due to injury. MacAskill fractured his knee just weeks before he was due to appear in a concert at the Hydro in Glasgow as part of the city's Celtic Connections festival.