Queen guitarist Brian May took his first walk in the park since the coronavirus lockdown began on crutches after tearing his buttock.
The astrophysicist, 72, tore his gluteous maximus three weeks ago while gardening, leaving him in agony forcing him into hospital.
He suffered severe nerve pain as a result, which was so excruciating he said it ‘took over his body’ and stopped him playing guitar.
But the rock legend took to social media yesterday to reassure fans that he is recovering, taking his first walk outside since the injury.
Brian May, 72, has taken his first walk in the park on crutches after he tore his buttock while gardening during the coronavirus lockdown at his London home and suffered nerve pain
The Queen guitarist had been spending lockdown at his London home treating fans to home concerts on Instagram before the pain became to much to bare. Pictured: Queen singer Freddie Mercury and Brian May Queen in concert at Rasunda Football Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden, on June 7, 1986
He said: ‘My first walk in the park since this all began. My the air feels good. Sky is blue, sun is clear and bright and warm and the breeze is cool.
‘White fluffy cloud scud over my head. But I’m dependent on these ‘crutch’ devices to get around.
‘There’s always one snag. Well, not for long, hopefully. I’ve been through these scrapes plenty of times before.
‘They make you stronger, right? If they don’t kill ya. Well, I’m not planning to check out just yet.’
Mr May says the nerve pain he suffered came to inhabit his body and paralysed his brain, taking over his personality
Last night he revealed that he had suffered ‘real pain’ which paralysed his brain after taking over his whole body.
A hospital visit and treatment from physiotherapists and osteotherapists showed he had suffered nerve pain after the suspected glute tear.
He said: ‘I’ve got some great help with pain management and rehabilitation. Today I can sit and potter slowly around holding on to things with almost no pain.
‘It’s incredible what real pain does to you. I’ve always been a bit of a big shot about my tolerance to pain levels – like not getting Novocaine jabs at the dentist or whatever.
The guitarist says he hasn’t seen his children or grandchildren for more than three months. He says the glute tear happened in ‘a moment of over-enthusiastic gardening’
‘But this nerve pain which came to inhabit my body about three weeks ago – no, it wasn’t a glute thing after all – has paralysed my brain.
‘I felt it took over my personality. I woke up feeling that somehow the pain WAS me, and I was struggling to get back in my body.
‘And I did give in and take the heavy duty painkillers, and in the end I was in a nightmare world. The only thing to do was kick it all and come out.
‘But I could only do that because I got some great physio help and some osteopathy.’
Mr May has spent lockdown in his London home with his wife, East Enders actress Anita Dobson, 71, and has treated fans to micro-concerts on social media.
Mr May and his Eastenders actress wife Anita Dobson, 71, clap for carers on the front portch outside their London home
He last week teamed up with Adam Lambert, who replaced Freddie Mercury as Queen’s frontman, to release a reworking of the band’s 1977 anthem We Are The Champions to acknowledge the key workers who are fighting the coronavirus pandemic from the frontline.
Mr May said the lockdown has left him feeling ‘despondent’ as he hasn’t seen his children and grandchildren for three months. Queen were in Australia before the lockdown on their Bohemian Rhapsody tour.
‘I haven’t seen my kids or my grandchildren for about three months or so,’ he told Rolling Stone.
‘The feeling of loss of freedom and loss of ownership of your life is quite painful. Some days I think I’m okay and I can deal with this, and some days I feel quite despondent.’
He added: ‘The only platform I had, in a sense, was Instagram. I couldn’t even get to my studio since that is in the country and I’m in town.’