U.S. rocker Jon Bon Jovi says he is “grateful and humble” to be able to return to the stage again following vocal cord surgery as the band that carries his name announced a comeback tour this week.

The 63-year-old singer underwent surgery in 2022 and needed three years of rehabilitation to regain the strength to sing live again.

“I’m excited. I’m also grateful and humble,” Bon Jovi told Reuters on the sidelines of a press conference for the 2026 tour at Wembley Stadium on Friday.

“(It) has taken a lot of rehabilitation. It’s sort of like an athlete… because you’re retraining… (like) a leg break for a footballer on this field. You have to slowly walk until he can run.”

The band, which Bon Jovi founded in 1983 and is known for hits like “Livin’ on a Prayer”, “Always” and “It’s My Life”, announced its “Forever Tour” on Wednesday, saying it would kick off on July 7 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Bon Jovi will then play at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium and Dublin’s Croke Park in August before wrapping the tour at London’s Wembley stadium on Sept. 4.

The European leg marks Bon Jovi’s first shows in Britain and Ireland since 2019.

“The inspiration was not to get back on the stage. The inspiration when you write a song and you feel that resonance between the sound waves of that music and the band and that resonance between you and the band and the audience,” Bon Jovi said of his decision to tour again.

The tour announcement coincides with the release of “Forever (Legendary Edition)”, a new version Bon Jovi’s 2024 album, featuring collaborations with Robbie Williams, Bruce Springsteen, and Avril Lavigne.

(Reporting by Natasha Montague; Editing by Crispian Balmer)