(CNN)Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts will likely to miss the band's upcoming "No Filter" tour through North America.
The news comes after Watts turned 80 in June and had undergone a medical procedure for an unknown condition. A spokesman for the stones issued a statement on Twitter stating that the drummer needs to rest and recover.
"Charlie has had a procedure which was completely successful, but his doctors this week concluded that he now needs proper rest and recuperation," the statement read. "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."
Watts has been with the Stones since 1963.
"For once, my timing has been a little off," Watts joked. "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," he added. "After all the fans' suffering caused by Covid, I really do not want the many fans who have been holding tickets for this tour to be disappointed by another postponement or cancellation. I have therefore asked my great friend Steve Jordan to stand in for me."
Drummer Steve Jordan, who has played with Keith Richards over the years, and was a member of the house bands for "Saturday Night Live" and "Late Night with David Letterman," will take Watts' place on the road.
The "No Filter" tour kicks off on Sept. 26 in St. Louis and is scheduled to hit Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. Plans for the 15-city tour had been derailed by the pandemic in 2020.
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