Rolling Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts likely to miss tour following surgery

Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts will likely miss the band’s upcoming U.S. tour to allow him to recover from an unspecified medical procedure.

A spokesperson for the musician said the procedure was “completely successful” but that Watts needs time to recuperate. The Stones are set to resume their No Filter tour with a stadium show on Sept. 26 in St. Louis following a 16-month postponement due to the pandemic.

“With rehearsals starting in a couple of weeks it’s very disappointing to say the least, but it’s also fair to say no one saw this coming,” a spokesperson for Watts said in a statement.

Watts, 80, said in a statement he did not want his recovery to further delay the tour, which is set to visit several U.S. cities including Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

'We're back on the road!'The Rolling Stones return in September with No Filter stadium tour

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“For once my timing has been a little off. I am working hard to get fully fit but I have today accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while,” Watts said.

Watts successfully underwent treatment for throat cancer in 2004. He will be replaced by understudy Steve Jordan, who has played with Keith Richards for years.

The Rolling Stones launched the No Filter tour in 2017 in Germany and played 16 U.S. dates in 2019. A second North American leg, slated to begin in May 2020, was shelved as COVID-19 raged across the country.

In a July statement, frontman Mick Jagger expressed his excitement about returning to the road and thanked fans for their patience. 

Keith Richards chimed in with his own gleeful comment: "We're back on the road! See you there!"

Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri