Bono will return to the stage in weeks U2 manager Paul McGuinness has stated.

 The singer has been sidelined with a serious back injury that needed an emergency operation.

McGuinness told the Evening Herald newspaper that "He's making a full recovery. The doctors told me he's going to be fine. It was serious surgery but we expect him to make a full recovery. He's pretty fit."

He denied rumors that the scale of the tour's massive stage production had anything to do with the injury.

"It's a big stage to run around, but no," he said. "I'll be very relieved when I see him running around the stage again. The European leg of the tour starts in Turin on August 6 and that has not been postponed.

"Rescheduling the American leg is quite difficult because it is an outdoor show; we can't do it in the winter because it's the northern hemisphere.

"So what we're doing now is trying to seek availability of the buildings that we had already pretty much sold-out, so we're getting availabilities and routing a coherent tour for next summer in the US and Canada. We've nearly done it so I hope we'll be able to announce that shortly."

McGuinness said  the rest of the band has continued rehearsing without Bono.

"They're doing some work and planning to do some recording. It never stops really," he said.