Rockers Local H have cancelled the first four dates of their U.S. tour after singer Scott Lucas was brutally mugged in Russia.

The star was beaten and robbed following a show in Moscow, and he sustained damage to his vocal cords during the attack.

He was referred to a throat specialist on his return to his native U.S. and has axed the first few dates of the rock duo's tour to allow himself further recovery time.

In a post on Facebook.com, he details the incident which led to the cancelled dates, writing, "The attacker came up from behind and put me in a chokehold until I passed out. When I came to, I was in a stairwell with all of my pockets empty. No phone, no wallet, no cash, and (worst of all) no passport... It wasn't until I found someone to ask for help that I realised something else was gone - my voice...

"When I got back to the States... it soon became apparent that this time my voice wasn't going to just heal itself and I had to see someone. The folks at MusiCares (organisation) hooked me up with a voice doctor who found that one of my vocal cords had been damaged. How badly damaged, we're not sure yet... but the doctor said if they had to go in and pop (!) the cord back into place, then we have a limited window for that until the damage becomes permanent."

The first four shows of the tour, which was due to kick off last Thursday (21Mar13), were called off, and Lucas has urged fans to look out for updates about the rest of the gigs.

He adds, "Please believe that we're doing everything we can to correct this situation and to make sure we don't miss any more dates than absolutely necessary. Please stay tuned and we'll keep you up to date."