Larry Mullen Jr. had to skip U2’s Las Vegas Sphere residency this year due to injuries to his elbows, knees, and neck. Despite not performing though, he was present at their last show.
The Edge talked about the drummer’s attendance at their MSG Sphere performance and shared an update on his health in a recent interview on Zane Lowe’s Apple Music 1 show (per NME).
“I’d say he probably loved it on many levels and also probably was like, “I can’t wait to get back there. Oops, sorry,”” the guitarist said. “The great news is Larry is getting better every week and we’ll be making a racket with him in no time. So we’re very excited about that.”
Larry Mullen Jr. previously said that his injuries were a result of his long drumming career. He decided to take some time off for better recovery, which required a surgery.
When he stepped down from the Las Vegas shows, Mullen was also unsure about his return in the foreseeable future. His bandmates shared their sadness over the situation, with Adam Clayton saying, “The whole band and I’m sure the audience are going to be very sad and miss Larry. He wants to come back, he wants to be able to have a long career and continue his drumming so he’s taking care of those injuries.”
In another interview with Zane Lowe, Bono noted that Mullen started having health problems during the recording of their latest single ‘Atomic City.’ He mentioned that the session was ‘really tricky’ for the drummer.