U2 reschedules U.S. shows for 2011, pulls out of Glastonbury

Because of Bono's recent back injury, U2 has been forced off the road and is pulling out of the Glastonbury festival abroad.

The June 25 appearance was to be the Irish band's first headlining stint at that event, which takes place over five days June 23-27. No headliner replacement for that date has been named, though it's been suggested that Dizzee Rascal will slip up to the spot -- or that Glastonbury organizer Michael Eavis will ask Coldplay to perform.

However, Eavis is tight-lipped so far, considering the call was made just this morning.

"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," Eavis said in a statement. "Instead, we would simply like to send Bono our very best wishes for a full and speedy recovery."

"I'm heartbroken," said Bono, who had emergency spinal cord surgery last week after sustaining an injury in preparation for the tour. "We really wanted to be there to do something really special - we even wrote a song especially for the festival."

Furthermore, the entire North American leg of U2's 360 tour -- 16 dates total -- have been postponed and will be rescheduled for next year. Those would have occurred June 3 through July 19. So far, U2 promoters Live Nation have not indicated if the band is postponing its European tour, which starts in August.

It was to be the most expensive stage production ever arranged, says Billboard.

Bono has already been discharged from the hospital in Munich, and has started in on a rehabilitation program and is on an eight weeks of recuperation.

"Bono suffered severe compression of the sciatic nerve," the U2 site quotes his doctor. "On review of his MRI scan, I realized there was a serious tear in the ligament and a herniated disc, and that conservative treatment would not suffice."

It's furthmore said that eight weeks was the very minimum amount of time the doctors suggested Bono spend rehabilitating.