Sir Elton John's friends beg him to 'slow down' after health scare

It was reported yesterday that music icon Sir Elton John had spent two nights in hospital after picking up a life-threatening infection during his South American tour.

Now it has been claimed that the star’s concerned friends are begging the 70-year-old singer to slow down and take some time for himself.

Speaking to The Sun, a source dished: “Elton has a real close knit circle of friends who are genuinely worried about him.

“Nobody wants him to burn himself out and they hope this recent scare will encourage him to take stock. But he’s not even considering retirement at present.”

Although he is out of the woods, Elton is still recovering from the bacterial infection and has been forced to cancel a series of performances in the United States.

The father-of-two confirmed his health scare in a statement on Monday night, revealing that he had fallen ill on a flight to the UK from Chilie.

The statement read: “During a recent, successful tour of South America, Elton contracted a harmful and unusual bacterial infection.

“During his return flight home from Santiago, Chile he became violently ill. Upon returning to the UK, Elton’s doctors admitted him to hospital, where he underwent immediate treatment to remove the infection.

“After spending two nights in intensive care followed by an extended stay in hospital, Elton was released from hospital on Saturday, April 22 and is now comfortably resting at home per doctors advice.

“Infections of this nature are rare and potentially deadly. Thankfully, Elton’s medical team identified this quickly and treated it successfully. He is expected to make a full and complete recovery.”

Apologising for having to cancel his tour dates, Elton said: “I am so fortunate to have the most incredible and loyal fans and apologise for disappointing them.

“I am extremely grateful to the medical team for their excellence in looking after me so well.”

It is thought that the star will be returning to his schedule of live performances in Twickenham, south west London, on June 3.

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