Blink-182‘s Latin American fan base will need to wait to see the band on its forthcoming world tour, as drummer Travis Barker required surgery after injuring his ring finger not once, but two separate times during rehearsals for the band’s reunion trek.
“This has been something we’ve been aiming to do for so long and we work so hard and we just kind of had one of those freak accidents that nobody saw coming,” lead singer Tom DeLonge shared in an Instagram video on Wednesday (March 1). “Travis needs to go in and have surgery on his finger and we have to get that well. We have to get that strong before we can do anything else. This is just so sad.
“These were the biggest shows we ever played,” DeLonge continued. “These are some of the most important places in the world for for a band this is like the pinnacle of our career was coming down and playing for you guys. So I really want you all to know, we are devastated and we plan to come back.”
Barker first revealed that his finger was injured on Feb. 8 via Twitter, telling fans, “I was playing the drums at rehearsals yesterday and I smashed my finger so hard I dislocated it and tore the ligaments.” Less than two weeks later, on Feb. 20, Barker shared an Instagram Story of his swollen and bruised knuckle, stating that he injured his finger “again.” By Feb. 27, Barker informed fans that the dual injury would require surgery the following day (Feb. 28).
Blink-182’s world tour marks the first the band has with original members Barker, Mark Hoppus and DeLonge since 2014. The Latin American leg of the tour, originally scheduled to kick off March 11 in Tijuana, Mexico, additionally featured stops in Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Bogotà, Lima and more.
See DeLonge’s video regarding the tour postponement below.
