U2 back out of headline festival slot
The frontman said he was “heartbroken” about having to pull out of the show, which was to mark the iconic festival’s 40th anniversary.
Bono has now been discharged from Ludwig Maximilians-University (LMU) Hospital in Munich, Germany, where he underwent emergency surgery on Friday.
The star is understood to have injured his back while training in preparation for the shows.
In order to fully recover, he is under doctor’s orders to start a rehabilitation programme and recuperate for at least eight weeks.
As a result, U2 have also been forced to postpone 16 shows on the north American leg of their U2360 Tour. The shows were due to take place between June 3 and July 19.
Bono called Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis to explain the band would be unable to play.
“I’m heartbroken. We really wanted to be there to do something really special – we even wrote a song especially for the festival,” he said.
Mr Eavis said it was hugely disappointing the iconic band could not play but that it was too early to discuss a replacement.
“It was obvious from our telephone conversation that U2 are hugely disappointed. Clearly, they were looking forward to playing the Pyramid Stage as much as we were looking forward to watching them.
“At this point, we have no comment to make about possible replacements for U2’s Friday night slot. Instead, we would simply like to send Bono our very best wishes for a full and speedy recovery,” he said.
Professor Jorg Christian Tonnm who carried out the surgery on the star, said it was the only course of action that would ensure a full recovery.
“He was already in severe pain with partial paralysis in the lower leg. The ligament surrounding the disc had an 8mm tear and during surgery we discovered fragments of the disc had travelled into the spinal canal. This surgery was the only course of treatment for full recovery and to avoid further paralysis. Bono is now much better... The prognosis is excellent but to obtain a sustainable result, he must now enter a period of rehabilitation,” he said.
U2 manager Paul McGuinness said Bono felt he had let down the band’s fans.
“He feels robbed of the chance to do what he does best and feels he has badly let down the band and their audience – which is, of course, nonsense.”
“His concerns about more than a million ticket buyers whose plans have been turned upside down, we all share, but the most important thing right now is that Bono makes a full recovery,” he said.
