Bill Nye is walking with a cane after partially tearing ligaments above his left knee during his performance of the paso doble Monday night on "Dancing With the Stars."

"I stepped on the pant leg of my fancy slacks," Nye, a fan favorite on the show, told ABC News.

During his routine Nye slipped, then struggled a bit to lift himself, but viewers never realized the extent of the pain he was in.

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Nye promptly iced his leg and went home after the show, but didn't get to a doctor's office until Tuesday where he posted a picture to his Instagram account, writing, "Here is the scoop: partially torn ligament. Awaiting the doc's orders with Tyne. We plan to dance! Stand by…" The photo of Nye giving a thumbs up displaying his injury garnered nearly 4,900 likes.

"The doctor told us, 'No more. You're done,'" Tyne Stecklein, Nye's professional dancing partner, explained.

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Nye revealed photos of his left leg's ultrasound which show a dark section that is an internal bruise. And always the educator, he described his injury. "The thing that hurts is when this stiff edge hits the belly of the muscle, as it's called," he said referring to the plastic part of the cast on his leg.

The 57-year-old "Science Guy" has an enormous fan base, but he's dancing at the bottom of the leaderboard.

"It's awesome that our fans are pulling us through with the lowest scores in the competition, so the last thing I want is to have to pull out early," said Stecklein, adding that the most important consideration is Nye's health and safety.

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Nye and Stecklein aren't sure what, or if, they'll dance this coming Monday on the competition show, but insist they will be will be in the ballroom.

"I want to try it," said Nye. "I want to try to pull it off."