"We were so looking forward to these shows. They were really important to us and I feel terrible about letting the fans down. My back injury has got to the point where I just couldn't even walk anymore and had to be in a wheelchair."
"The problem is that it's a slipped disc, so the disk is basically dead and two of the vertebra are sort of rubbing against each other and not functioning right. I'm not a back specialist and I don't remember every little detail they tell me. I just know its restricting me doing just about anything beyond walking. I thought by this point it should be fine but, having the X-rays and all that stuff, the doctors are saying that I could be in a wheelchair. So as much as I wanted to be able to do it, I've got to look at reality and for the first time I've got to listen to somebody else and not just myself. I can't really do anything else other than walk"
The frontman admits that he began to worry about whether he would be physically fit enough to perform in the New Year."I thought that if I wasn't able to do certain things by that point then I wasn't going to be able to prepare. That was my cut off where i said I couldn't start exercising and getting ready for the tour I've got to have a lot of physiotherapy in the next few months."
Deryck dismisses the idea that he could have preformed the hour on a stool. "No, never. I would never do a show without making it 100 per cent. I can't even have a guitar on my back! I know people have done that and its been something a lot of people have said to me, but I would never do that. Our shows are all about energy and I'm the frontman so I've gotta be the entertainer - I've got to do stuff. I mean, I don't think anyone would want to see [Metallica frontman] James Hetfield sitting on a stool at a show (laughs) I don't want to see that and I would never do it. We're all really upset about this and we didn't want to let anyone down"
