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SYFY WIRE Norman Reedus

Norman Reedus recovering from concussion sustained while filming 'The Walking Dead'

AMC confirms the injury "will push series wrap by a few days."

By Josh Weiss
The Walking Dead 1112 PRESS

Consummate apocalypse survivor Norman Reedus sustained a concussion-based injury while filming the eleventh and final season of AMC's The Walking Dead this week, SYFY WIRE confirmed Wednesday afternoon.

“Norman suffered a concussion on set,” the actor's publicist said in a statement over email. "He is recovering well and will return to work soon. Thank you to everyone for their concern."

A representative for AMC confirmed the incident "will push series wrap by a few days."

Reedus leads the long-running zombie show as the crossbow-using, motorcycle-riding, and scratchy-voiced Daryl Dixon. The character originally began as a supporting player, an irascible loner who didn't play well with others, though his role has exponentially expanded over the years. With Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) gone, Daryl has really stepped up to the plate as one of the last-remaining characters fans know and love from the first couple of seasons.

In fact, Reedus holds the record for most episodes out of anyone else in the cast. Many of those adventures involve physically-intensive action sequences, given Daryl's talent for wilderness survival and hand-to-hand combat. "Daryl's always looking out for somebody, or many people at the same time," Reedus told Entertainment Weekly last summer. "He's never doing anything for himself, ever ... Daryl needs a spa day. He needs a massage. You know what I mean? He is a selfless guy. He needs some 'me time' really bad."

Based on the acclaimed comic book written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Tony Moore, The Walking Dead will come to a close after its current jumbo-sized season of 22 episodes, which the network is releasing in eight-episode chunks (Part 2 is now airing).

As the story currently stands, Daryl is a respected foot soldier in the Commonwealth military led by the ever-scowling Mercer (Michael James Shaw). Maggie (Lauren Cohan) has decided not to ally Hilltop with the more-developed Commonwealth, effectively setting the stage for a major conflict between the two communities.

The next episode of Season 11 — "Warlords" — premieres on AMC this Sunday (March 20) at 9 p.m. EST. Subscribers to AMC+ can watch new episodes an entire week before they air. The network has yet to set a premiere date for the last eight episodes. Once the show does come to a close, however, Reedus will hop on his motorcycle alongside Melissa McBride's Carol for a new spinoff.

"Somebody asked me the other day, 'Why do you want to do a spinoff?' And it's because I need this — to put so much work in this character, I need to find that sense of home and bring it full circle," Reedus explained to EW. "I can't just end on an episode. I put too much work into that state! It has to come full circle. I have to solve the riddle. I have to find my Rubik's Cube. I have to put it back together. It's a whole thing. I have to or I'm going to go nuts. So yeah, it comes up all the time. And I know we've got a long way to go, but I know it's going to come. It's going to come really fast. Those last two months are going to go by in like a week."