Elton John recently appeared frail when he was pictured in a wheelchair ahead of his planned, taped anniversary performance at an airport in Germany.
The 75-year-old singer has suffered from multiple ailments in recent years and recently took a break from his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour due to health concerns.
From Covid to hip surgery and a battle with prostate cancer, MailOnline has taken a look back at Elton’s checkered health history over the past few years.
Health: Elton John recently appeared frail as he was pictured in a wheelchair at an airport in Germany ahead of his scheduled, taped anniversary appearance
The Rocketman star has been in a wheelchair since 2019 after spraining an ankle.
However, he was undeterred from traveling, saying at the time from Florence, Italy: “Not even a sprained ankle could keep me from seeing one of the most beautiful museums in the world.”
In September 2021, Elton announced that he would be rescheduling the European and UK leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour to 2023 after an awkward crash.
The performer said he was in constant pain and it was unlikely his hip would hold out on tour, which is why the decision was made to have hip replacement surgery before touring again.
Troubles: The 75-year-old singer has suffered from multiple ailments in recent years and recently took a break from his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour due to health concerns
Before the surgery, Elton said he couldn’t “move sideways” and couldn’t get in and out of his car, making his prospects on tour impossible.
In a statement at the time, he said, “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I am compelled to reschedule the 2021 dates of my Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in Europe and the UK to 2023,” with the tour scheduled to resume in New Orleans in January 2022.
“At the end of my summer break I fell unhappily on a hard surface and have had significant pain and discomfort in my hip ever since.
“Despite intensive physiotherapy and specialist treatment, the pain is getting worse and leading to increasing mobility problems.
Complaints: From Covid to hip surgery to a battle with prostate cancer, MailOnline has taken a look back at Elton’s checkered health history over the past few years
“I was advised to have surgery as soon as possible to get back to full fitness and to make sure there were no long-term complications…
“I will complete a program of intensive physical therapy that will ensure a full recovery and a return to full mobility without pain.”
He added: “I fully feel your frustrations after the year we’ve had. I promise you that – the shows will be back on the road next year and I’ll make sure it’s more than worth the wait. Love, Elton x’.
Already in July 2021 Elton had to postpone a selection of dates of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour again due to Covid-19.
Fans in Germany who booked tickets for Elton’s performance in September will have to wait until 2023 to see the pop icon live.
The tour, which began in 2018 and is set to feature 309 shows, was set to get going again in Berlin before heading to Munich, Hamburg, Mannheim and Cologne.
Injury: In September 2021, Elton announced he was rescheduling the European and UK leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour to 2023 after suffering an awkward crash
Sir Elton had already pushed back dates for the March, July and September tour for the tour last year, all because of restrictions related to the ongoing pandemic.
The musician canceled shows in Texas when he tested positive for Covid in January 2021, but had been vaccinated at the time so was expecting only mild symptoms.
In his 2019 autobiography Me, Elton revealed he had prostate cancer and was 24 hours from death after contracting an infection following surgery.
Elton was touring South America in 2017 when he had to be taken home to the UK after feeling “worse than I’ve ever been in my life”.
In the book, published by the Daily Mail, the star wrote: “I was taken to King Edward VII’s Hospital in London where I had a scan.
“I was told that my condition was so serious that the hospital did not have the equipment to deal with it.
Ordeal: In his 2019 autobiography Me, Elton revealed he had prostate cancer and was 24 hours from death after contracting an infection following surgery (pictured with husband David Furnish)
“I had to be transferred to the London clinic… At 2.30pm I was on the operating table and more lymph was being drained – this time from my diaphragm.
“Two days later I was in intensive care. When I came to, they told me I had contracted a serious infection in South America and they were treating it with massive intravenous doses of antibiotics.”
Elton, who said he has had multiple MRI scans and other procedures, added that his husband David Furnish was told he was 24 hours from death.
The singer opened up about the ordeal further in a 2019 interview with Graham Norton, in which he compared himself to the Bionic Woman.
He said: “I literally had to learn to walk again. I was extremely ill. Luckily I survived. I’m fine now. But there are very few pieces of me left!’
“There is no hair, no pacemaker, no tonsils, no prostate, no appendix. I had kidney stones.
Family: The star also admitted he feared he would not see his children Zachary, 11, and Elijah, 9, after the health ordeal (pictured in 2015)
“I’m like the Bionic Woman. I’m like Lindsay Wagner or Steve Austin. Whatever you want to call it.”
The star also admitted he feared he would not see his children Zachary, 11, and Elijah, 9, after the health ordeal.
He recounted how he appeared on a show in Las Vegas in a lot of pain after the surgery and thought, “Don’t let me die, I want to see my kids grow up.”
Elton has suffered other minor ailments in recent years after being forced to cancel a November 2018 show in Orlando due to an ear infection and another show in Verona due to the flu.
Difficulties: Elton has suffered from other minor ailments in recent years after being forced to cancel a November 2018 show in Orlando due to an ear infection and another show in Verona due to the flu