‘I may never be able to play guitar again after New York cycling crash’ – Bono

The frontman was badly injured in a cycling accident in New York’s Central Park in November, which led to extensive surgery to his left arm and left him with a fractured eye socket.

Writing about the accident and his thoughts on the past year, and his life in general, he explained the extent of his injuries – which left a bone sticking through his leather jacket – meant he has barely been able to move around since he was hurt.

And he said he would need to “concentrate hard” to be well enough for this year’s world tour.

On the band’s website, he wrote: “Recovery has been more difficult than I thought. As I write this, it is not clear that I will ever play guitar again.

“The band have reminded me neither they nor Western civilization are depending on this.

“I broke my hand, my shoulder, my elbow and my face - but the real injury this year was to my Irish pride as it was discovered that under my tracksuit I was wearing yellow and black Lycra cycling shorts.

“Yes, LYCRA. This is not very rock ’n’ roll.”

Bono said he had no memory of what happened during the smash, which led to him missing a U2 show in New York’s Times Square a month ago, with Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Bruce Springsteen stepping in as guest singers.