On episode 8 of Battle of the Eras, we saw two injuries come into play. For the past few episodes, we’ve seen Derrick hobble around on one leg after hurting the other during Cloud Catcher — potentially breaking it. Then, Jordan emerged with bandages on his face after the Battle for Honor challenge. The show glossed over this injury, but there was a quick acknowledgment in his confessional.
What happened to Derrick’s leg?
It’s pretty clear that Derrick’s leg was a big issue in the game, but viewers never knew the extent of the injury — because Derrick didn’t truly know either. After his elimination, he found out it was a torn ACL and meniscus with a minor LCL tear.
Derrick said he didn’t want to get ejected from the game and didn’t have to get X-rays or an MRI because he could put weight on his leg. So, he kept competing to the best of his ability with his injury.
Online, Derrick was pretty quiet about this injury, though some fans noticed he had crutches and leg braces before Battle of the Eras debuted. Derrick had to have surgery in the spring, after he left Vietnam and shortly after his son Maverick was born.
What happened to Jordan’s face?
During the Battle for Honor challenge, we saw Derrick avoid the crowds — likely to protect his leg. However, other people were in the middle of the platform causing chaos. A few got cuts and scrapes (Josh left with a bandage on his face), but Jordan was in the worst shape. He had cuts above and below his left eye and got a dedicated confessional where he jokingly said that he thought he looked better with his new battle wounds.
It’s very unlikely that Jordan was so nonchalant about the injury, and production likely only included the confessional so fans would know why Jordan was bandaged up and had wounds, as we will notice them in the next few episodes.
In the edited version of the show, we’re meant to believe Jordan got the injuries being pushed to the ground. During filming, spoiler account Gamer revealed rumors that Jordan was pretty severely injured because a piece of metal broke off and cut his face. It was also alleged that Jordan was almost taken out of the game because the injuries were near the eye and required stitches.
While the piece of metal is unconfirmed, it’s clear that the injuries are near the eye — which can be a tricky spot to heal because of facial movements. It’s also pretty clear that he has stitches holding the cuts together.
What’s going on this season?
Jordan’s a true competitor, but he’s also very outspoken. So, if he was injured by equipment, he definitely would have given producers a piece of his mind. Whether or not these conversations happened, it’s quite obvious that production has been fairly lackadaisical with their medical assessments this time around.
There’s no clear explanation, but in Derrick’s case, the Era 1 team was already on life support. Perhaps they were hoping Derrick would voluntarily leave to save a teammate like Brad or Darrell from going into the Arena. We also don’t know the extent of Jordan’s injury. Perhaps it wasn’t as serious as the rumor implied, but we do know production let him arrive at the game late. He’s a key part of this cast, so producers are unlikely to let him leave easily.
We’ve certainly seen people leave the Challenge due to smaller injuries than the ones Derrick and Jordan received, so it feels odd to see these two players continue in the competition. There’s no doubt that they’re true competitors, but it would be nice to see some more precautions taken to prevent similar injuries in the future.
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