\"It was very hard for me to sit on the sidelines while my band went out on the road without me. But it\'s what they had to do and with my blessing. It was just a week before the tour when I went to my Mom\'s house on Lake Havasu near the Colorado River. I was water skiing when I had a freak fall on the water skies by getting tangled in the ski rope and being dragged. Not even realizing anything was seriously wrong nor broken \'till the following morning when I awoke to my hand as swollen as a football; I went straight to a local clinic for x-rays. I was stunned when I heard the news. I had fractured my hand, breaking the smallest finger on my right hand.\"

As soon as possible the drummer headed back to Los Angeles for an expert bone analysis. Sorum went to a hand specialist, Dr. Miles Cohen, at the Cedars Sinai Hospital. Dr. Cohen has been working with bones for 40 years. At first he thought Matt might be ready to perform by Ozzfest and only out for a few dates. Then after a week of wearing a cast and trying to heal naturally, it turns out it wasn\'t healing properly. So dr. Cohen decided Matt Sorum needed surgery. The drummer reveils:

\"I was afraid, because I had never dealt with any trauma to my hands before. The drums are my life and this scared me. But I was in good hands — no pun intended. He inserted a pin from my pinky to my wrist. I am doing well and on the road to recovery. Nonetheless, I really missed all of you fans.\"

Witin days Matt Sorum is flying with the band to NY for the opening of the New Hard Rock Hotel in Times Square. Sorum:

\"I won\'t be playing yet though. Maybe one song won\'t kill me, we\'ll see. (...) Can\'t wait to start making the next album. It’s going to be awesome.\"

Matt Sorum was temporarily replaced by Biran Tichy and Mark Schulman.

In related news: Velvet Revolver will be receiving a double platinum award from RCA Records later this week.