Rolling Stone Keith Richards leaves hospital (Roundup)

May 11, 2006, 19:31 GMT

Wellington - Rolling Stone Keith Richards left hospital in New Zealand Thursday but will have to go back for check-ups and it is not known when he will be able to join the rest of the band on their world tour.

Richards, who had an operation to relieve pressure on his brain, after reportedly falling out of a coconut tree while holidaying in the South Pacific, thanked doctors and nurses and apologized for being 'a pain in the arse', the New Zealand Press Association reported.

The 62-year-old rocker said he had received 'truly wonderful care from the doctors to the beautiful ladies who make painful nights less painful and shorter,' and added, 'I'm pretty much at a loss for words to express my deep gratitude.

'I hope I wasn't too much of a pain in the arse - after all it was my head they fixed. Many thanks, kiwis.'

News of his release from the private Ascot Hospital in Auckland, where he was taken last month after his accident in Fiji, came as a surprise after a local newspaper reported that his four children - son Marlon and daughters Angela, Theodora and Alexandra - had joined his wife Patti at his bedside.

The word came in a joint press statement from publicists Rogers & Cowan and LD Communications that gave no further information on his condition or any indication of when he was likely to rejoin the Rolling Stones, who have delayed the European portion of their world tour, which was due to open in Spain on May 27.

Richards' release came after the New Zealand Herald ran a story headed 'NZ show may have been Richards' last,' which fuelled speculation that the guitarist could have suffered brain damage and may never perform live again. The Rolling Stones' last show was in Wellington on April 18.

The Herald had reported that minders for Richards and his family told waiting media outside the hospital on Wednesday that the ageing rocker was 'recovering well but was likely to be in hospital for some time.'

Earlier this week, Richards' publicists rejected a Herald report that the rocker had undergone two operations in Auckland, one on April 28 to stop bleeding in his skull and another on Monday.

A statement from New York-based publicist Fran Curtis said: 'The first and only operation was done on Monday, May 8, and was 100 per cent successful. There was no brain damage. He continues to improve as expected.'

But London's Sun newspaper quoted a source close to Richards as saying the musician's condition was 'much more serious than the Rolling Stones' camp have been letting people believe.'

The source claimed there were concerns among medical staff that Richards could be left brain damaged or partially paralyzed by the fall, and the family had been warned Richards might never perform live again.

The Sun said doctors found Richards suffered a 'complete mid-line shift' - a condition where one side of the brain collapses on to the other - after his first operation.

The London paper said fellow Stones Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood were believed to be watching Richards' progress from London, while Mick Jagger was 'monitoring the situation' from the United States.