Last month, Rage Against The Machine singer Zack De La Rocha hobbled off of the stage in Chicago with an apparent leg injury during the song’s fourth set, “Bullet In Your Head.” He returned to finish off the show while sitting against a monitor and has been performing on Rage Against The Machine’s final US tour dates visibly hobbled, including this week’s five-night tour-ending run at Madison Square Garden in new York City. The injury was so severe that the band were forced to cancel their UK and European leg of the tour. In an Instagram post, De La Rocha’s close friend and noted photographer Glen E. Friedman, revealed that De La Rocha’s injury is in fact, a torn Achilles tendon.
“I went to see my good friend Zack (with his torn Achilles) perform last night at Madison Square Garden, one of the most hallowed venues in the modern world,” Friedman said in his post. He wrote about how impactful De La Rocha’s performance was though, saying that, “Even having to sit during the performance Zack De La Rocha showed the world what they had been missing in all the years he had been away from this incredible group of musicians.”
For context, a torn Achilles is a common sports injury that was notably suffered by both Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant. For basketball players who run and jump regularly throughout a game, it can take well over a year to come back and some players may never be the same. But for the vocalist of a rock and roll band, the recovery time will be considerably less and the future prognosis is favorable. Here’s hoping that De La Rocha has a smooth recovery and he’s back on stage in no time. Although he might have to tone down the jumping a bit for a while.