Travis singer Fran Healy has undergone emergency surgery after a sausage dog attack left him unable to play guitar.
The 48-year-old was left with a bloodied wound when the dog bit him last month.
He had stumbled upon a horror three-car crash near his Hollywood Hills home and saw the dog alone in the middle of the road, so tried to keep it away from harm.
But the startled pooch attacked as it tried to escape his grasp.
His wounds were treated immediately after the incident and the cuts were patched up at a nearby hospital.
But the singer has now revealed the injuries required surgery to allow him to get back to playing his guitar.
He posted a picture of his X-ray and pre-operation footage on his Twitter account.
— Fran Healy (@franhealy) November 17, 2021
Sausage dog saga’ update
He wrote: “So the latest in my sausage dog saga. I was referred to a hand specialist because, despite the wound healing, I still couldn’t play D on my guitar.
“The middle finger on the left hand was sticking 1cm above the string. The doc had me have an MRI which revealed fluid on the joints and possible torn tendons.
“I’ll never look at a sausage the same way again.”
The dog was later recaptured unharmed and returned to its owner, who stays in a property previously owned by Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks.
Speaking at the time, Healy said: “I was driving down my hill and as I rounded a corner there were three cars jackknifed and from the middle of the chaos ran a dachshund.
“So I jumped out and chased it up the hill. Cars bomb down our hill and it would have been toast. So I tried to pick it up and it mauled the **** out my left hand.”
Healy joined Travis in 1991 and they went on to have a string of hits including Driftwood, Sing and Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
They have twice been awarded best British group at the BRIT Awards and were named NME Artist of the Year in 2000.