The Rolling Stones have postponed their upcoming North American stadium tour.

The rock group have decided to push back their tour to allow Sir Mick Jagger to recover and undergo medical treatment.

He said in a statement: ''I hate letting our fans down and I'm hugely disappointed to have to postpone the tour but am looking forward to getting back on stage as soon as I can.''

Whilst the band added in a further statement: ''Mick Jagger has been advised by doctors that he cannot go on tour at this time as he needs medical treatment. The doctors have advised Mick that he is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible.''

As part of their North American stadium tour, the Rolling Stones were set to kick off their run of shows in Miami on April 20, before finishing the 17-date run at Canada's Burl's Creek Event Grounds on July 29. There were also dates set for Chicago's Soldier Field stadium as well as two shows at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey. The band also were going to perform in Denver, Seattle, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Massachusetts and Foxborough.

Fans have been asked to hold onto their tickets as the band work out when they can reschedule the postponed dates for.

Meanwhile, back in November, guitarist Keith Richards gave an update on their album, claiming that the record is in the ''early stages'' and wouldn't be in their fans' hands until the end of 2019.

He said: ''Mick [Jagger] and I got together for a few days a month or so ago in the studio, just playing around. Apart from that, there

might be a session sometime in December, but I'm not crossing my fingers on that. It was [a] great [session], man. We knocked out a few songs together with [producer] Don Was. We're just working things through. We had a great time - got some nice stuff out of it.''

Asked if he knows when the record will be released, he added: ''Oh man, no. Like I say, early stages. I would say if I'm looking at it, we're going to do this tour, so maybe this time next year, I would say. Maybe. That looks like a reasonable projection.''