U2 have pulled out of their Glastonbury headline slot, and 16 US shows following singer Bono‘s recent back injury and surgery.

The Irish band posted a message on U2.COM saying that they have postponed shows up to and including their New Jersey New Meadowlands Stadium gig, which had been set for July 19.

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Meanwhile, Glastonbury festival organiser Michael Eavis confirmed that the band would also not be playing Glastonbury on June 25.

Writing on Glastonburyfestivals.co.uk, Eavis said:

“It was obvious from our telephone conversation that U2 are hugely disappointed. Clearly, they were looking forward to playing the Pyramid Stage as much as we were looking forward to watching them. At this point, we have no comment to make about possible replacements for U2‘s Friday night slot. Instead, we would simply like to send Bono our very best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.”

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Bono himself also expressed his regret at pulling the festival appearance, declaring: “I’m heartbroken. We really wanted to be there to do something really special – we even wrote a song especially for the festival.”

The singer received surgery on May 21 after being injured in Munich while rehearsing for the forthcoming tour.

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