Former American Idol and current America’s Got Talent star Simon Cowell broke his back in an electric bike incident in Malibu that sent him to the hospital on Sunday. Cowell — who was just referred to as ‘Simon’ in a report from The Daily Mail, had his representation confirm the reports that the TV personality and music producer, 60, fell while taking a test ride of his new bike and was rushed to the hospital.
‘Simon has broken his back and will be having surgery this evening,’ Cowell’s representative confirmed to both The Daily Mail and Page Six. The latter has more details about the incident and his interest in biking, which he used as part of a weight loss program in recent years. People reported Sunday that Cowell required 5-hour surgery to recover from the incident, though a source described him as “lucky.”
“Simon had surgery overnight and is doing okay this morning. It was a five-hour surgery and he has had to have a number of fusions and metal rod put into his back,” a source tells PEOPLE.
“He landed on his back when he fell from the bike. The injuries are bad but he’s also been told he was lucky,” the source says.
Cowell was reportedly days away from shooting new episodes of America’s Got Talent, though it’s initially unclear if production will be delayed or he will recover in time to film.