Phil Collins’ Spokesperson Addresses Fan Concerns as Singer is Hospitalized for Surgery: Report

Phil Collins’ representative spoke out to downplay concerns about his health, according to reports.

A spokesperson for the Genesis drummer, 74, told TMZ that Collins has been hospitalized to undergo knee surgery, but assured fans that there is no reason to worry. Speculation about Collins’ health had spread through social media following the deaths of three celebrities —  The Cosby Show actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne and WWE superstar Hulk Hogan — over the past week.

Us Weekly has reached out for comment from Collins’ representation.

Collins largely retreated from public life following his final performances with Genesis in 2022. The musician had to perform while seated — and was replaced on drums by his son Nic Collins — for those concerts due the lingering effects of a spinal injury from 2007. (Collins is also a type 2 diabetic.)

Speaking to MOJO Magazine in February, the “In the Air Tonight” singer — who is the father of Emily in Paris star Lily Collins — disclosed for the first time that he’d faced additional private health battles in recent years.

“The thing is, I’ve been sick. I mean very sick,” Collins confirmed.

Asked whether he’d consider making new music, Collins admitted that his health issues had taken a toll on any career ambitions.

“I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens. But I’m not hungry for it anymore,” he confessed to MOJO.

Collin initially went under the knife in 2009 to correct a spinal injury that occurred on Genesis’ 2007 reunion tour. Following the procedure, Collins experienced numbness in his fingers and could not grip a drumstick at all for an extended period.