With four shows remaining on the North American leg of the "No More Tours 2" trek, Ozzy Osbourne was forced to postpone the gigs as he underwent surgery on his hand. Initially, just one date was moved, but as the singer's hand required more care and surgical intervention, the rest of the dates were nixed for the time being. Now, the Prince of Darkness has revealed that he had three individual and potentially deadly staph infections in his thumb.

Ozzy told Rolling Stone that his right thumb had swollen to “the size of a fuckin’ lightbulb" before seeking treatment. He noted he didn't feel like he was sick and was making jokes while doctors determined the problem and proper treatment course. The doctor, in reply to the singer's jokes, commented, "I don’t know if you realize, Mr. Osbourne, this is a very serious problem you have." Ozzy's wife and manager, Sharon added, "Would you stop fucking making jokes?” He, in turn, cracked, "Well, it’s my hand.”

“They’re all extremely, deadly serious about it,” said Osbourne, who noted, “I judge it based on the expression and the body language of the doctor. If he comes in with a really solemn face, I go, ‘Oh, okay. My time to go is up.'”

To perform the surgery, doctors froze his thumb and invaded the flesh under the fingernail. “They cut all this stuff out. Even with the numbing stuff, it was agony," he admitted, detailing, "It wasn’t pus, but it was the stage after pus, when it gets in the blood and goes in your body and fucking kills you. It may sound fucked up what I’m saying to you, but he was really concerned about checking my blood.”

As for how Ozzy contracted the infections, the doctor chalked it up to the singer constantly shaking hands with new people. "Well, I do that meet and greet at the gig and I must shake fucking 200 hands a day," said the singer. The doctor replied, "That explains it."

The four affected tour dates have been rescheduled for July of next year and can be found here. Ozzy is currently recovering at home and has a specialist visiting three times a week. He claims he is "85 to 90 percent better."

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