Motley Crue rocker Vince Neil is recovering after undergoing surgery to remove kidney stones on Monday (11Mar13).

The ailment forced Neil to cut short the band's gig in Sydney, Australia on Sunday (10Mar13) and the star was subsequently hospitalised for treatment.

The group's manager, Allen Kovac, revealed Neil had been experiencing health problems "for the last few days" and planned to honour Motley Crue's ongoing tour commitments - but his bandmate Nikki Sixx revealed to his Twitter.com followers that the star would need to undergo an operation.

He has since taken to his Facebook.com page to update fans about Neil's condition and to praise his pal for taking to the stage on Sunday.

In the post, Sixx writes, "As many have heard we had to cut our set short by 4 songs... due to Vince be (sic) in severe pain on stage. He was doubled over on his dressing room floor 5 minutes till show time and was told by the promoter to not even play but Vince said he couldn't do that to the fans.

"I've seen Vinnie go onstage with broken bones, his voice completely blown out and torn ligaments but he never ever cancels...Just like an athlete you sometimes have to play through the pain but last night it became to (sic) excruciating.

"I was texting with Vince most of the night last night as he was just waiting for the doctor to come back with the test results. This morning we found out he had to be admitted into surgery to remove kidney stones. He just got out 5 minutes ago and the doctors said everything went well in the operating room. I am going to the hospital to see him before I head to Brisbane."

The band is next scheduled to take its show with Kiss and Thin Lizzy to Brisbane on Tuesday (12Mar13).