Richards ready to rock as Stones resume world tour

Keith Richards can't wait to get back on stage.

The Rolling Stones guitarist having completely recovered from recent surgery after a fall in Fiji and hisbandmates held a news conference in Milan Monday, the day before the iconic group's delayed start to the final, European leg of its A Bigger Bang world tour.

"I feel great. I can't wait to get back on the stage again. Basically everything is cool," Richards, 62,told reporters.

On April 27, Richards fell while vacationing in Fiji. He was flown to a hospital in New Zealand and, days after being initially released, he was forced to return and have surgery to relieve pressure on his brain.

"They put me out like a light," Richards joked. "I was pissed off when they woke me up because I was in such a good sleep."

Asked to set the record straight about the circumstances of his fall which media have variously reported as from a coconut tree or from a recreational water vehicle Richards and the band answered back jovially.

"If you saw the tree, you'd realize the joke. Fiji is not just made of coconut trees. It was a little tree," Richards said,as bandmates Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood indicated a height of just a few feet off the ground.

Richards also spoke about his upcoming cameo in the third instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, in which he will play the father of the flamboyant pirate character portrayed by Johnny Depp.

The second film, which opened Friday, broke several North American records, including the largest single-day box office take ($55.5 million US) and largest opening weekend take ($132 million US).

"Now I know why [Depp] paid for all those lunches," Richards deadpanned, adding that he would be spending a week or so filming in September.

The Rolling Stones tour resumes Tuesday in Milan, with 20 more dates following before the final concert on Sept. 3 in Denmark.