KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — Mark Feehily of Irish pop group Westlife will temporarily stop touring with the quartet due to health problems.

Taking to Instagram, the 43-year-old informed his fans that his health issues began more than three years ago in August 2020 after he had his first surgery.

"Within a few days of this surgery, I was in severe pain and was rushed into A&E,” he said, adding that he ended in the Intensive Care Unit where he was informed that he had developed severe sepsis due to complications from the surgery.

He was forced to undergo another surgery to rectify the problem and saved his life before being discharged in December 2020.

While touring with the group in 2021, Feehily was diagnosed with pneumonia and had to undergo a third surgery in May 2022.

He also developed a very large incisional hernia later and had to undergo his fourth major surgery recently.

"But I had no option,” he said, adding that he is on the mend now and recovering is his absolute priority.

"It is with the upmost level of regret that I must now temporarily stand down from all Westlife touring until a time after I have had the chance to fully recover from the turbulent journey I have been through as an individual,” he said.

The group will be touring the US and Canada, billed as The Hits Tour — A St Patrick’s Day Special, which will be their first ever headline tour of North America.