'Full steam ahead' for Stones tour: Richards

The Rolling Stones will start up their European tour on July 11, now that Keith Richards has recovered from his fall, the band announced Friday.

The veteran rockers will kick off the final, European leg of its A Bigger Bang world tour in Milan on July 11, the Stones said in a statement posted on its website.

"We are delighted to announce the Stones tour is back on track and thank all the fans and ticket holders for their patience," said Michael Cohl, the band's Canadian-born promoter.

"We have put in as many shows in as many countries as was feasible. This is still going to be the most incredible rock show ever."

Concerts that had been scheduled for late May and June were postponed last week, when the band announced that Richards needed more time to recover after his recent fall and subsequent head surgery.

Promoters for the postponed dates in Barcelona, Madrid, Brussels, Gothenburg (Sweden), St. Petersburg, Brno (Czech Republic), Warsaw, Athens, Zagreb (Croatia) and Frankfurt are re-scheduling their concerts.

The Nuremberg and Leipzig concerts have been cancelled.

World tour finale delayed by accident in Fiji

After hitting cities across Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand since last summer, the Stones had been set to storm European stages starting May 27.

Thetour was put into jeopardy when Richards suffered a fall on April 27 while vacationing in Fiji. Some media reported that he had fallen from a palm tree, while others said he fell off a personal watercraft.

Richards was flown to a hospital inAuckland, N.Z. Although he left after a few days, he returned when he began suffering headaches. He underwent surgery on May 8 to relieve pressure on his brain.

The band released a statement postponing the start of the tour until June and then another postponing until July. Last week, Richards returned to the U.S., where he lives, to recuperate.

"Excuse me, I fell off of my perch!" Richards said in the band's statement Friday.

"Sorry to disrupt everyone's plans but now, it's full steam ahead! Ouch!"