The actor had to return home to New York to seek medical treatment on his injury, which he has described as “excruciating” and related to his age.
“I tore my quad somehow,” he said in a recent interview with Indiewire. “It’s just a simple stepping over something and I just went down. The pain was excruciating and now I have to get it fixed. But it happens, especially when you get older, you have to be prepared for unexpected things. But it’s manageable.”
A torn quad muscle can take some time to recover, though there are several treatment options, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Associates. Depending on the severity, a doctor may recommend treating a torn quad with rest, physical therapy or even surgery.
People reported that production on the film will not be delayed, as De Niro had already been planning to take two weeks off from filming in Oklahoma.
“While at his on-location home in Oklahoma for the filming of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert De Niro injured his quadriceps muscle which will be treated medically in New York,” a representative said in a statement. “This will not affect production as he was not scheduled to film again for another three weeks.”
De Niro also mentioned that he doesn not believe his injury will affect his performance once he returns to Oklahoma to resume filming.
He told Indiewire, “What I’m doing with Scorsese in Killers of the Flower Moon, I’m pretty much a sedentary character in a way. I don’t move around a lot, thank god. So we’ll manage. I just have to get the procedure done and keep it straight in a certain position and let it heal.”
Killers of the Flower Moon is set to premiere on Apple TV+ later this year. Based on a book by David Grann of the same name, the film tells the story of a case of serial murders in 1920s Oklahoma.