Slayer Guitarist Forced Off Tour By Flesh Eating Disease
Jeff Hanneman won\'t be on the road with the band in the near future
NME reports that Hanneman has contracted necrotizing fasciitis. It is a rare disease which destroys skin, fat and tissue from below the surface of the body. He is believed to have caught the disease from a spider bite and will undergo surgery on his right arm shortly.
The thrash metallers, who have touring commitments throughout the summer, have announced that they will recruit a guest guitarist to stand in for him for their summer tour dates.
Guitarist Kerry King said in a statement: "After everything that’s happened we all agreed that we just can’t let our fans down again."
He added: "Jeff Hanneman is totally on board with the decision, so we will tour as planned. We can’t pinpoint what day he’ll be back, but it will be as soon as he possibly can. We can’t wait for him to get better and get his ass back on the road."
Slayer are scheduled to play at Sonisphere in Knebworth on 8 July as part of the Big Four's headline appearance. No word on whether Hanneman will be back by this point.