Brian May Hospitalized After Queen Guitarist’s ‘Over-Enthusiastic Gardening’ Injury

Queen guitarist Brian May was rushed to the hospital earlier this week, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer revealed on Instagram Wednesday. May ripped his gluteus maximus “to shreds” in a “moment of over-enthusiastic gardening,” he wrote. The “We Will Rock You” songwriter, 72, said he will not be able to walk or sleep for some time “because the pain is relentless.” He also confirmed his trip to the hospital was not due to the coronavirus.

“Reality check! For me. No – the Virus didn’t get me yet – thank God,” May wrote, alongside a photo of himself wearing a face mask and a video of his perspective of the hospital hallway from a wheelchair. “Hope you’re all keeping extra-safe out there. A decision to relax controls doesn’t suddenly make the danger go away. But me ?? Yes, I’ve been quiet.”

He continued, explaining that “as well as getting over-stretched and harassed by too many demands,” the reason for his hospitalization was because he “managed to rip my Glueteus Maximus to shreds in a moment of over-enthusiastic gardening.” The tongue-in-cheek caption explained that he “did a thorough job” pulling the muscle earlier this week and that he “won’t be able to walk for a while … or sleep, without a lot of assistance, because the pain is relentless.” He asked fans to “please, please, don’t send me sympathy” and instead requested “healing silence for a while” while he goes dark on social media during his recovery.

Since sharing the news about his hospitalization, May has shared a couple videos on Instagram, providing his opinions on U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. May is not a fan and called on Britain’s leaders to create a future based on “compassion, common decency and respect for all creatures.”

“How can we apply what we have learned during lockdown? Write and tell me,” he wrote to fans. “Is it appropriate in the New World to fly WATER around the world ? It’s H20, for God’s sake! Will it be appropriate for businessmen to fly from London to New York for a business meeting which we now know can be done by ZOOM ? There must be a million ways we can cut down pollution by adopting new ‘normal’ rules. Tell me. Now we KNOW it’s possible to change – and we KNOW it’s essential, for our health and the health of the Planet.”

Before May’s injury, he joined Queen drummer Roger Taylor and singer Adam Lambert to record “You Are The Champions,” a reworked version of “We Are The Champions.” The track was produced to raise funds for the United Nations’ COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization. So far, $4.7 million has been raised on YouTube, and Google plans to match $5 million.