Irwin – who is the son of Terri and the late Steve Irwin – heaped praise on his partner Whitney for her “amazing” work on Dancing with the Stars.
He said: “Witney was amazing at changing up some of the moves that we had to do in there.
“We had to change on the fly, but our last dance, that freestyle, was a way to say thank you to everybody who’d been on that journey.”
During the Dancing with the Stars finale, Irwin detailed how his injury began to set in when he was rehearsing for the show, admitting it had been “getting worse progressively”.
He said: “I’ve been dealing with rib pain because the intercostal muscles of the ribs are under a lot of tension.
“It’s been getting worse progressively.”
Despite his injury, Irwin and Carson won the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy – an accolade previously won by his sister Bindi Irwin in 2015’s season 21.
Following his victory, Irwin said: “There is no one who deserves it more than Witney.”
He added: “She gives everything. She balances so much. She is an absolute inspiration to me and to so many people.”
Irwin also said how his sister’s win was special as she used her victory to raise awareness and spread the message about their family’s charity Australia Zoo and Wildlife Warriors.
He told People: “It’s about making the world a better place. And when I watched her lift that Mirrorball, I saw her lifting that message.”
Bindi has since congratulated her brother on his Dancing with the Stars win on Instagram.
She wrote: “TWO MIRRORBALLS NOW CALL AUSTRALIA ZOO HOME!
“Congratulations and all the love in the world to Robert and Whitney. What. A. Night.”
