Ian McKellen is still ‘on the mend’ after fall but will not return to the stage for ‘Player Kings’

(CNN) — Ian McKellen is focused on making a full recovery after an accident sidelined him from the stage two weeks ago, but says he will not return to the featured role of a production’s tour as he’d initially planned.

The “X-Men” star, 85, posted an update regarding his health on X on Tuesday, writing, “I want to assure my many well-wishers that the injuries (to wrist and neck) are on the mend. My doctors promise a complete recovery -but only if I avoid work over the next few weeks.”

McKellen’s understudy David Semark will assume McKellen’s role in “Player Kings” – a reworked version of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV” parts I and II, adapted and directed by Robert Icke – for the upcoming tour, scheduled to run through July 27.

Last month, McKellen fell while performing “Player Kings” on stage at the Noël Coward Theatre in London as the production was nearing the end of its three-month run before going on tour in the UK.

McKellen said in a statement immediately following his accident that his recovery would be “speedy” and that he was “looking forward to returning to work.”

“Any actor will say that missing a performance feels somewhat shameful, even when he is not to blame. None of us ever wants to let down our audience,” McKellen added in his statement this week. “But Robert Icke’s masterful production remains intact.”

“Player Kings” is set to premiere at Bristol Hippodrome on Wednesday, where it will run for four days before moving on to Birmingham. The show also stars Richard Coyle and “Ted Lasso” actor Toheeb Jimoh.

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