After undergoing secret hip surgery, sources have told US publication Globe that the 77-year-old’s future looks bleak.
“He ‘s paying the price for all those years of raunchy onstage gyrations,” Dr. Gabe Mirkin told the magazine.
“His sexy moves took a terrible toll on his hip joints, making it agonising for him to walk.
‘The surgery was a last resort to stop his suffering.”
The news comes as the Welsh star himself opened up about his shock surgery – admitting to The Mirror that he was forced to limp through live performances before a scan showed he needed an urgent operation.
“I did a summer tour all over Europe and I was gradually seeing physiotherapists in different countries and they were stretching me out,” he admitted.
“Years ago my sciatic nerve was giving me trouble in my hip and it felt like the same thing. It was a pain you couldn’t get rid of, like a dull ache. I thought it was that.
“So the physiotherapists I was seeing over the summer were all working on it. I was feeling OK, but they said I needed to get it scanned to see what’s going on. I said I would once I got back to London. I didn’t miss a show because I was leaning more on my right leg. It was getting on and off the stage that was giving me trouble. You can’t limp onto the stage, you have to try and make an entrance.
However, despite claiming he’s now back to his best, Tom’s pals fear he could damage himself for good if he insists to perform again.
“After this surgery, we fear that trying to perform like the Tom Jones of old could leave him crippled for life”.