BEIJING, May 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is recovering from a head injury after undergoing a successful brain surgery on Monday, according to spokeswomen for the band.

    The operation was to relieve a blood clot on Richards¡¯brain, and normally involves drilling a hole through the skull. According to a statement from the spokeswomen, Richards, 62, was "up and talking to his family" only hours after surgery at the Ascot Hospital in Auckland.

    The band also denied a report in the New Zealand Herald that Richards had undergone two surgeries and that doctors were concerned about brain damage.

    Since it may take several weeks for Richards to recuperate, the band had postponed its "A Bigger Bang European" tour until June, according to the band's web site.

    Richards, a founding member and mainstay of the Rolling Stones, had been under medical observation in Auckland since taking a fall while on vacation in Fiji. Various news reports claimed that he fell out of a palm tree or from a jet ski. Enditem

    (Agencies)