Sam Smith recently opened up about a terrifying skiing accident that left them unable to walk for a month.

During a recent episode of the podcast “Sidetracked with Annie and Nick,” the 32-year-old singer-songwriter revealed that they completely ruptured their ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) while skiing on a black slope, which is considered an expert-level run.

“I was an idiot and went on a black slope on the second day,” Smith recalled, adding that they had to be rescued by medics from the ski slope in a blood bag. The experience was, in their words, “the worst.”

As Smith explained, the ACL is a ligament in the knee that helps with jumping and springing movements. According to medical experts, such injuries are extremely painful and often require surgery to repair, with recovery times ranging from several months to over a year.

Smith opted for the non-surgical route, which meant they were unable to walk for a month. They were spotted using a cane and wearing a leg brace while walking through New York City in January, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Prior to the accident, Smith had spent the previous year touring for their album Gloria. The sudden loss of mobility left them feeling anxious and immobilized. “It was the first time I’d ever not been able to move, and I was holding onto a bit of weight. I was very anxious,” they shared.

Smith used their downtime to focus on physical and mental healing. They even took a break from music and deleted social media, which they described as “crazy.”

“I actually just got rid of my phone and I got a new phone,” they shared. “It’s the first time I don’t have my library of music that I’d had since I was like 11. I started again — fully started again. I needed an American number, and my phone was just full of people, like exes and all these different people through the years.”

Smith added that they’ve been spending their time sitting on benches, looking at trees, and taking in the simple things in life.

Meanwhile, actress Aubrey Plaza recently suffered a similar injury, tearing her ACL during a game of “knockout” at the Phoenix Mercury practice facility. Despite the injury, she still attended the WNBA All-Star game that same night, sporting crutches and an ice wrap around her knee.

“I feel for Aubrey Plaza. She came this weekend with a healthy knee. She’s leaving with a torn ACL thanks to a hardy game of ‘knockout’ at the Mercury practice facility,” sports commentator Ryan Ruocco said during the game.