Ron Wood: Keith Richards' injury gave the Rolling Stones a welcome break

The Rolling Stones' Ron Wood says that, although the band worried about Keith Richards recent brain injury, they welcomed the six-week break from their Bigger Bang world tour. Wood told Britain's Virgin Radio that Richards joked with him at the time, saying, "Trust me to break the momentum." Wood went on to explain that, "We'd been working pretty hard and I think everybody, including the crew, didn't really mind the extra few weeks off. I spoke to Mick (Jagger) and he said, 'Blessing in disguise'. I said, 'It was a bit painful. We won't try that again'. But hey, you know, it's Keith Richards."

Wood, who first started recording with the Stones in 1974, joked that despite undergoing brain surgery in May Richards is back to his devil-may-care ways: "Keith has not calmed down, it's an act. He just severely attacks me now and is very polite to other people. He gets out of any trouble by saying 'Well I've got brain damage, you'll have to excuse me.'"

The Rolling Stones will next perform on Sunday (August 19th) in Twickenham, England at the Twickenham Rugby Ground. They'll kick off their upcoming American leg on September 20th in Foxboro, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium.