U2 SINGER Bono has undergone emergency surgery on his back at a hospital in Munich after injuring himself during preparations for the next leg of the band’s world tour.
A posting on the band’s website yesterday confirmed the frontman had been admitted to hospital in Germany.
“Bono has today undergone emergency back surgery for an injury sustained during tour preparation training.
“He was admitted to a specialist neuro-surgery unit in a Munich hospital,” the statement said.
The 50-year-old singer is expected to remain at the hospital over the next few days before returning home to Dublin to recuperate.
The band was due to kick off the second North American leg of its “360 Degree” world tour on June 3rd in Salt Lake City, Utah, before heading to mainland Europe in August.
The Salt Lake City concert has been postponed, and fans are being encouraged to keep their tickets until a replacement show is confirmed.
“Once his condition has been assessed further, a statement will be made regarding the impact on forthcoming tour dates,” concluded the posting.
In an audio recording also posted on the U2.com website, band manager Paul McGuinness said the injury to Bono is a major setback to the tour schedule.
“The band were really looking forward to getting back out on the road until the emergency surgery on Bono’s back, which took place in Munich today.
“We were due to start rehearsals on Tuesday in Salt Lake City, and get the show ready for the next leg. There were going to be some changes, with new material,” he said.
Paul McGuinness also said Bono’s injury has caused immense inconvenience for fans, and is likely to have potential financial implications for the road crew that will transport amplification, lighting equipment and staging across the US, Canada and mainland Europe over the next five months.
“It’s been very disruptive for our crew. We have over 400 people converging on Salt Lake City and some of those have been turned around and told to stay at home until we make our new plan,” he said.
U2 are currently midway through a world tour of their “360 Degree” show, the first leg of which commenced in June of 2009 in Barcelona before concluding in Vancouver, Canada last October. The second leg, which was to get under way in Salt Lake City, is scheduled to take in concerts across the US and Canada before moving to Europe in August.
The tour is to conclude in Rome on October 8th next.