Sir Tom Jones is "doing great" after having a hip replacement.
The 77-year-old music legend was adamant he was not going to cancel any of his performances during his European Tour because of the "dull ache" he had in his joint, which he believed to be a recurring issue with his sciatic nerve, but when he started limping on and off of the stage he knew he had to see an expert to solve the problem.
After seeing a medical professional Tom was told he had no cartilage on his left hip and the bones were "crunching" together.
Speaking to The Mirror Online about his injury, the ‘It’s Not Unusual’ hitmaker said: "I did a summer tour all over Europe and I was gradually seeing physiotherapists in different countries and they were stretching me out.
"Years ago my sciatic nerve was giving me trouble in my hip and it felt like the same thing. It was a pain you couldn’t get rid of, like a dull ache. I thought it was that.
"So the physiotherapists I was seeing over the summer were all working on it. I was feeling OK, but they said I needed to get it scanned to see what’s going on. I said I would once I got back to London. I didn’t miss a show because I was leaning more on my right leg. It was getting on and off the stage that was giving me trouble. You can’t limp onto the stage, you have to try and make an entrance.
"So I knew I had to do something about it. I got back to London and my surgeon said the cartilage is gone in my left hip, the bones are just crunching together."
The star underwent the operation last month and since then the singer has been in a rehab facility where he has been walking every day to speed up his recovery.
He explained: "I’m doing alright, it’s been a month now so I’m doing better each day. You have to keep walking, just two days afterwards and you’re up walking, in the pool. I was at the London Clinic and they’ve got a rehab facility there.
"I was in the pool everyday, on the bike, they’ve got all the gear there. I was in for three weeks but it was mainly to do with the physic than anything else because once the operation is done, they just keep a check on you to make sure it doesn’t get infected. You take pills to make sure of that."
And ‘The Voice’ judge has revealed his return to the popular talent competition is what kept him motivated when he was "stuck" in hospital.
He said: "When you’re stuck in hospital and not feeling good after an operation, you need something and ‘The Voice’ is perfect for that because it’s not like going back to a full blown tour, travelling and all that business."
And Tom feels like he is a "bionic" man since having the operation as he is feeling better than ever.
He concluded: "I’m coping great, all I need to do is get up and stretch it a little bit. Walking these corridors is like rehab, there’s a lot of them here. There’s a long walk from the dressing room to the stage, it’s good. It’s a new hip, it’s bionic, it’s like starting again."
Sir Tom Jones opens up about hip replacement
