We’ve got some bad news for fans of The Flash today and more specifically, actor Jesse L. Martin, who plays Detective Joe West on the hit CW show.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Martin is taking a medical leave of absence from the series. From what we understand, he suffered a back injury during the recent hiatus and it’s gotten so bad that he can’t continue to work. There’s no word on when he may return, but we wish him all the best and hope that he’ll be back on our screens sooner rather than later.
“Jesse Martin is taking a medical leave of absence from The Flash. We wish him a full and speedy recovery and look forward to his return as Detective Joe West,” a representative told Entertainment Weekly in a recent statement.
According to sources close to the production, The Flash will address Martin’s absence in some way, though further details on that haven’t been revealed as yet. And again, we’ve been given no indication on when he may return to work.
Still, fans have already taken to social media to show their support for the actor and below, you can find just a sampling of what they’re saying:
https://twitter.com/Bahoulifla/status/1057703308993970176
Figured as much 🙁
Wishing Jesse L Martin a speedy recovery 💕 pic.twitter.com/uAqQvI9MV0— 💖💜💙 Aisha (@ababyish14) October 31, 2018
Wishing Jesse L Martin a speedy recovery and that he’ll return soon as our favorite father (and papa) and detective ❤️ https://t.co/XMGZq0KQnV
— Daily Candice K Patton 💜 (@dailyckp) October 31, 2018
Well, I wish he had a Twitter but I wanna wish Jesse L. Martin a speedy recovery. Get back soon!!
— Siu Jerk Jai 💜⚡ (@KalEl84) October 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/mattcmdelgado/status/1057697353895825408
is wishing a swift and complete recovery for actor Jesse L. Martin…. https://t.co/rHsL8SxN3M
— Steve Chung (@SteveChung1968) October 31, 2018
Good recovery to dear actor Jesse L. Martin, who is taking a medical leave from #TheFlash.
The actor suffered a back injury during the hiatus, (so the scenes seated) and his character Joe West will have a reason not to appear.
Source:EW pic.twitter.com/GWrH2ta2gW— cwverse.dc.tv (@cwverse_dctv) October 31, 2018
Though Martin will certainly be missed, The Flash will continue on without him, with next week’s episode looking to be a particularly interesting one as it’ll introduce us to Rag Doll. Originally imagined as a nemesis for Jay Garrick, this time it’ll be Barry Allen who’ll have to square off against him in the live action realm. And though the villain’s been around since the Golden Age, he hasn’t seen a ton exposure outside of the comics – barring the animated series The Batman, as you may know.
Anyways, it all goes down on the next episode and for a taste of what’s to come, be sure to watch the promo below.
