Melanie BrownMelanie Brown has joined fellow Spice Girl Emma Bunton in hobbling around the stage during their comeback shows after hurting her foot on New Year’s Eve.

Melanie is said to have twisted her ankle on leaving a party at Claridge’s hotel in London after welcoming in the New Year with her bandmates and their loved ones.

At the women’s first show of 2008 on Wednesday, Geri Halliwell told the audience at the O2 Arena: “Mel B got so drunk she fell down a flight of stairs and twisted her ankle, so she won’t be busting the moves tonight.”

An audience member added: “[Mel] was certainly much more reserved. It was clear the injury was affecting her and she couldn’t gyrate around the stage like normal.”

“It was a funny sight with two out of the five of them taking it a bit more easy than usual. It’s clear they’re not as sprightly as they once were.”

Emma has wore a flesh-coloured bandage and specially reinforced footwear for their group’s performances since damaging her own ankle during a show in Las Vegas last month.