Charlie Watts has had to pull out of the Rolling Stones' up-coming tour of America following emergency surgery.
The drummer was set to tour with the band stateside next month but had to undergo an operation in London after a routine check-up unearthed in issue.
The surgery is said to have been a success, but the 80-year-old now faces weeks of recovery, meaning the rescheduled No Filter tour comes too soon for him to take part.
Speaking about the news, Charlie joked to The Sun : "For once, my timing has been a little off."
The tour will still go ahead with hot session drummer and friend of the band Steve Jordan replacing Charlie.
Charlie, , who is regarded as one of rock’s greatest ever drummers, admitted that he's disappointed to be missing out but insists he's taking the advice of the experts to get fully fit although it "may take a while".
He said: "After all the disappointment with delays to the tour caused by Covid, I really don’t want the many Stones fans in the States who have been holding tickets to have another postponement or cancellation.
"I have therefore asked my great friend Steve Jordan to stand in for me."
And Steve called the call-up an "absolute honour". He said: "It is an absolute honour and a privilege to be Charlie’s understudy and I am looking forward to rehearsing with Mick, Keith and Ronnie.
“No one will be happier than me to give up my seat on the drum-riser as soon as Charlie tells me he is good to go.”
Charlie hopes to rejoin Mick Jagger, 78, Keith Richards, 77, and Ronnie Wood, 74, later in the year once he has recovered.
A spokesperson for the group said that Charlie needs weeks of “rest and recuperation” following the procedure.
They added: “With rehearsals starting in a couple of weeks it’s very disappointing to be without Charlie.”
The up-coming stateside tour consists of 13 dates and was finally rescheduled two weeks ago. It will come to a close in November in Austin, Texas.
The band is determined to welcome the drummer back ahead of next year's big 60th anniversary celebrations which will see them released the first album packed with original songs in 17 years.
Charlie, who was born in Wembley, joined the Rolling Stones in January 1963 and has been a part of every one of the band’s studio albums alongside Mick and Keith.
