Liam Payne says he has 'serious kidney infection,' cancels South American tour

Liam Payne is taking a step back from professional commitments for health reasons.

The former One Direction member announced on his Instagram on Friday "with a heavy heart" that he has "no other choice but to postpone" his upcoming tour in South America, since he has been in hospital "with a serious kidney infection."

He added in the caption to the video post that the ordeal is "something I wouldn't wish on anyone, and doctors orders are that I now need to rest and recover".

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"I was beyond excited to come play for you guys. To all of you who have bought tickets: I'm so sorry. We're working to re-schedule the tour as soon as we possibly can, but for now we will be refunding the tickets," Payne added.

In his video address, he concluded that once he's well again, "hopefully we'll put on an even bigger, better show".

According to the singer's official website, Payne was slated to play six dates in early September, in Peru, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

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Last month, the crooner shared that he was six months sober after spending 100 days in a rehabilitation facility.

"I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself actually because I kind of became somebody who I didn't really recognise anymore," Payne said in the video, adding "and I'm sure you guys didn't either".

He continued of his rehab experience, "I was in bad shape up until that point and I was really happy more than anything after I arrived to kind of put a stopper to life and work."

"Ever since then, I've just been trying to learn to get to know this new guy," he added.