By Annabal Bagdi Matt Jackson
Sharon Osbourne has issued a sad update on husband Ozzy’s health ahead of Black Sabbath’s final gig at Villa Park. The band is gearing up to take to the stage for one final show at the stadium on Saturday, July 5. Ozzy has previously hinted at retirement as he battles with his deteriorating health. The Prince of Darkness was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease partway through his 2019 tour. He had thought intermittent numbness in his leg was down to years of substance abuse and heavy drinking. The band postponed the European leg of the tour so Ozzy could recover at home. But matters worsened when Ozzy ‘stupidly’ decided to attempt ‘diving into bed’. READ MORE: Wife of crime boss Tommy ‘Hotdog’ Smith says shes on benefits and ‘will have to live in a tent’ The star had not turned on the light and assumed he knew where his bed was but ended up crashing onto the floor, Express reports. According to Sharon, this exacerbated an old quadbike injury Ozzy sustained in 2003. He was rushed to intensive care and told that he would need surgery or risk becoming paraplegic. Ozzy described it as the ‘worst f****** surgery you can imagine’. But he now regrets undergoing the operation, fearing he should have sought a second medical opinion. The procedure involved placing two metal plates on either side of his spine but the screws soon loosened, leading to lesions and bone fragments. Sharon, who is Ozzy’s manager, said: “They still haven’t found out the damage, it’s so intricate.” The couple sought out a specialist surgeon to extricate the metal from Ozzy’s spine. Sharon went on: “Five operations later, it just f***** his body. “It was torturous for him: Parkinson’s and damage to his spine. It’s just been horrendous.” Despite the setback, Ozzy has remained industrious in the music scene, dropping highly praised album Ordinary Man in 2020 and its successor ‘Patient Number 9’ in 2022. During the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham , Ozzy joined forces with Black Sabbath comrade Tony Iommi – who he will again join on stage at Villa Park. Ozzy and Tony, alongside Bill Ward and Geezer Butler, will come together as Black Sabbath for one final time after first forming in 1968. Don’t miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here .