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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—U.S. Olympic ice dancers Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates will miss the Grand Prix season after Bates severed his Achilles’ tendon in a “freak” training accident earlier this week.

Bates is expected to make a full recovery after surgery Thursday to repair the severed tendon. But his rehabilitation will keep the pair out of the Grand Prix season. The 2008 junior world champions will decide later whether to compete at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which are Jan. 23-30 in Greensboro, N.C.

Samuelson and Bates were doing a lift during practice Tuesday when her blade snagged his Achilles’ tendon.

Bates said it was “just a freak accident during a lift that we’ve done hundreds of times with no mishaps.”