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'Dancing with the Stars' season 23 spoilers, cast news: Mark Ballas, Val Chmerkovskiy won't be in new season?

Promotional image for the ABC dancing competition "Dancing with the Stars" | Facebook/Dancing with the Stars

"Dancing with the Stars" season 23 may be short of at least two fan favorite dancers when it airs later this year.

According to two-time Mirrorball champion Mark Ballas, he may be skipping out on the next season of the ABC reality dance competition to let his back injury heal completely.

"I'm not sure yet," Ballas told People. "This one just finished and my back still hurts. Thinking that far ahead is kind of ... you know, it's hard."

While the long-running ABC show hasn't exactly brought in Hollywood A-listers to compete since it began in 2005, it has launched the careers of a handful of professional dancers, including Ballas, the Chmerkovskiy brothers, and Julianne and Derek Hough.

In season 22, Ballas and his partner, mixed martial arts fighter Paige VanZant, finished as runner-ups to Nyle DiMarco and Petra Murgatroyd. Before that, Ballas had won the Mirrorball Trophy twice: in season 6, with partner Kristi Yamaguchi, and in season 8, with partner Shawn Johnson.

Yet, while Ballas is currently recovering from the injury he sustained during season 22, he is also busy planning his wedding with fiancee BC Jean.

"We're going to make the wedding about the marriage," Ballas said. "I want this to be her day."

Ballas also spoke about the celebrities he would like to see in "Dancing with the Stars" season 23, saying that singer/dancer Shakira is his first choice.

"They do a great job of picking people that are entertaining and fun," he told People. "If I could have anyone it would be Shakira. She's, like, my No. 1 choice. I think she would be amazing."

Meanwhile, Romper noted that another dancing pro, Val Chmerkovskiy, may be taking some time off from "Dancing with the Stars." According to the website, Chmerkovskiy and his brother Maks are currently on their world tour, "Live with Maks and Val," which began on June 15.

ABC has yet to release the list of contestants for "Dancing with the Stars" season 23, which should debut in September.