Queen's Brian May Tears His Butt Muscles to 'Shreds' While Gardening: 'The Pain Is Relentless'

Morgan Smith
·3 min read

April showers bring May flowers — and if you’re Brian May, they bring gardening injuries, too.

The Queen guitarist revealed on Instagram Wednesday that he was recently hospitalized after tearing his buttocks in a “moment of over-enthusiastic gardening.”

"I managed to rip my gluteus maximus to shreds ... Suddenly I find myself in a hospital getting scanned to find out exactly how much I’ve actually damaged myself … turns out I did a thorough job," May, 72, captioned a photo of himself wearing a face mask.

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Reality check ! For me. No - the Virus didn’t get me yet - thank God. Hope you’re all keeping extra-safe out there. A decision to relax controls doesn’t suddenly make the danger go away. But me ?? Yes, I’ve been quiet. Reason ? As well as getting over-stretched and harassed by too many demands ... I managed to rip my Gluteus Maximus to shreds in a moment of over-enthusiastic gardening. So suddenly I find myself in a hospital getting scanned to find out exactly how much I’ve actually damaged myself. Turns out I did a thorough job - this is a couple of days ago - and I won’t be able to walk for a while ... or sleep, without a lot of assistance, because the pain is relentless. So, folks ... I need to go dark for a while, getting some complete rest, at home. Please, please don’t send me sympathy - I just need some healing silence for a while. I’ll be back - but I need the complete break. OK ? Thanks. Take care out there. Bri

A post shared by Brian Harold May (@brianmayforreal) on May 6, 2020 at 6:44pm PDT

He continued: “This is a couple of days ago — and I won’t be able to walk for a while ... or sleep, without a lot of assistance, because the pain is relentless.”

The British rocker, who normally shares frequent updates on his Instagram, had been quiet for a week before posting about his injury.

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May explained he would be posting less as he recovers at home.

“Please, please don’t send me sympathy — I just need some healing silence for a while,” he noted, and told fans to “take care out there.”

Earlier this month, Queen, the iconic band comprised of May and drummer Roger Taylor, released a new version of their 1977 hit, "We Are the Champions" with singer Adam Lambert in support of health care workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage From left: Brian May, Adam Lambert and Roger Taylor

Proceeds from the song will be donated to the World Health Organization, and an accompanying video was also released, highlighting all the heroes who are risking their lives to fight the virus.

Instead of singing "We are the champions" in the second verse, Lambert, May, and Taylor decided to make it "You are the champions" in reference to the frontline workers.

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"Queen’s music is super iconic — it's anthemic, it always includes the audience, it’s a participation-based song — and we knew that people needed a bit of light and love and some encouragement in these scary and uncertain times," Lambert, 38, tells PEOPLE. "We figured it would be a really beautiful thing to do this."