‘Law & Order: SVU’ Season 23: Mariska Hargitay’s Injury Mean Bad News for Olivia Benson

The next time the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit team serves a warrant, they might have to do it without their trusty captain. Mariska Hargitay, who stars as Capt. Olivia Benson is still recovering from the ankle injury she suffered early last month. She has been seen on set walking with crutches, and the injury might make it difficult for Benson to be as hands-on with cases as she would like.

The ankle injury will “be addressed in the season premiere,” a Law & Order: SVU representative told TVLine on Wednesday. Benson will not be seen using crutches on the show though, the rep said. Viewers will not have to wait too much longer to see how the injury will be handled though, as Season 23 kicks off with a two-hour premiere on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. ET. Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 2 starts that same night at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

Hargitay suffered an ankle injury on July 4 after attending a special screening of Black Widow, Page Six reported at the time. She spent hours in a hospital and missed the afterparty hosted at her own house in East Hampton, New York. Hargitay “took a tumble on the slick rainy street outside the movie theater,” a source told Page Six. Hargitay, 57, has shared several updates on Instagram since her injury, with her humor still intact. On July 21, she even shared a photo of herself on crutches, wearing a shirt reading, “It hurt. Thanks for asking.”

In late July, photos of Hargitay in crutches on the SVU set surfaced. She also shared a video from the set that may have dropped a huge hint for the Season 23 premiere. In a July 29 video, Hargitay announced filming started while wearing a black dress with a floral print. This dress appears to be the same as the one she wore in the Season 22 finale to Fin and Phoebe’s non-wedding. This could mean that the Season 23 premiere will either pick up right where we last left off or the episode will include a flashback.

Hargitay has had a rough 2021. In May, she revealed that she suffered a broken knee, a hairline fracture in her ankle, and a torn ligament, but she still finished filming SVU and Organized Crime. She shared a photo of herself outside the Hospital for Special Surgery in a leg brace, sparking some concern from fans that she was hospitalized. “I did break my knee two weeks ago and then I was up on it, unfortunately,” Hargitay told fans on Instagram. “But then I went to get an MRI and that’s when I learned I broke a knee and [had] some other issues.” The Emmy-winner said she was not hospitalized, adding, “I think people didn’t know what happened, but I just don’t want anyone to worry about me and I’m fine.”