Keith Richards recovering, released from hospital

Veteran guitarist Keith Richards has been released from a New Zealand hospital and is making a "speedy recovery" as the Rolling Stones prepare to resume their world tour later this month.

A spokesperson for Auckland's Ascot Hospital confirmed Tuesday that the 62-year-old rocker had been discharged.

Earlier, a spokesperson for the band revealed that doctors said Richards was making"a speedy recovery," after sustaining a mild concussion while vacationing at an exclusive resort in Fiji with his wife, Patti.

While the band has not disclosed exactly how Richards sustained his injury, reports have stated that he suffered a fall, with some reporting Richards fell from a tree and others saying he fell while riding a personal water craft.

The recent accident is not the first time Richards has hadan injury from falling. The band had to delay a tour in 1998 after he damaged his ribs and chest when he fell off a ladder while trying to get a book in the library of his Connecticut mansion.

Richards developed a reputation as a hard-living rocker during his younger years, racking up arrests and suffering from drug abuse. He was convicted of heroin possession in Toronto in 1978 and was sentenced to stage a charity concert for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and begin drug rehabilitation. Richards reportedly quit drugs after the incident and has credited Toronto with saving his life.

The Rolling Stones have confirmed that the European leg of its current A Bigger Bang world tour would begin as scheduled in Barcelona on May 27.