Bono gets 5-hour surgery after bicycle accident

NEW YORK, USA – U2 frontman Bono underwent hours of surgery and will need intensive therapy after a bicycle accident, his doctor said Wednesday November 18, revealing worse injuries than previously thought.

Bono – whose hits with U2 have included “Sunday Bloody Sunday” – fell off his bicycle Sunday in New York’s Central Park as the band prepared for a week-long residency on NBC’s The Tonight Show.

His doctor said that Bono went through five hours of surgery late Sunday, November 16 in which his elbow was washed out and a bone on his arm repaired with 3 metal plates and 18 screws.

The 54-year-old Irish singer went back into surgery the following day for treatment on his left hand, said Dean Lorich, an orthopedic surgeon at New York Presbyterian hospital.

“He will require intensive and progressive therapy, however, a full recovery is expected,” he said in a statement first reported by Rolling Stone magazine.

Bono also suffered a fracture involving the orbit of an eye and injured his left shoulder blade, Lorich said.

In an earlier statement on Bono’s accident, U2’s three other members said they expected the singer to make a full recovery and that the band would be playing again soon.

It is unclear how the accident will affect future concert plans. U2 has said it is planning a tour next year, its first since its massive 2009-2011 production that included more than 100 shows at stadiums and other large venues around the world.

U2’s only upcoming date is December 14 when the band is scheduled to play in Los Angeles at the annual holiday charity concert of KROQ radio.

In September, U2 released its first album in five years, “Songs of Innocence,” triggering controversy by sending it for free to iTunes‘ 500 million users in a promotion with Apple. – Rappler.com