MADONNA seems to have taken the phrase 'break a leg' literally, as she kicked off her latest tour in London.
The Queen of Pop was seen wearing a large leg brace throughout the show, which had already been previously postponed due to her health issues.
Madonna performed the first of six sold out shows at the O2 Arena in Greenwich.
The 65-year-old treated fans to a setlist of more than 40 songs, spanning her decades long career.
But the Material Girl did not try to hide the fact she needed the help of the leg brace, and concertgoers said the usually energetic and exotic dancer had to take a seat during some of her biggest hits.
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One fan shared a video of the show to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in which Madonna belts out Vogue.
However, instead of performing some of the song's iconic dance moves, Madonna had a chair brought on stage for her to sit down, while her much younger backup dancers did their thing.
Madonna suffered a serious bacterial infection in June, which led to a several-day stay in the ICU.
She also struggled with hip and knee injuries during her Madame X Tour years earlier.
The Queen of Pop revealed she had to undergo regenerative treatment after suffering extreme pain due to knee surgery.
BRACING HERSELF
Madonna originally shocked fans last month, when she shared some photos from her concert rehearsals wearing the brace.
In one Instagram pic, she showed off her long legs while wearing fishnet stockings and a pair of low-heeled boots on stage.
There was an electric guitar and two large amplifiers behind her.
Fans, however, were distracted by the large blue brace she was wearing around her left knee.
In another photo, snapped from above, Madonna was seen lying down, resting her head on one of her hands as she iced the same knee.
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She captioned the post: "Rehearsal photo dump........." and made no mention of the injury to her leg.
Her comments were full of excited fans, eager to see her take the stage again.
There were also several supporters who appeared concerned for the Hung Up singer after she was hospitalized in June.
One commenter wrote: "One thing I love about Madonna is she never let anybody or anything stop her shine."
Another commented: "Gotta love our old girl! Knee brace and ice pack, so relatable."
A third fan wrote: "As much as I love you I want you to know that we won't love you any less if you need time to look after YOU, so if it means a concert gets canceled for your health then it's ok – you have nothing to prove to anyone. I want you to stay healthy and happy!
"You will always be Madonna our legend!"
HEALTH CRISIS
Madonna was found unresponsive in her New York City home on June 24 and spent some time being cared for in the hospital.
About two weeks after the scary incident, she told fans: "Thank you for your positive energy, prayers and words of healing and encouragement.
"I have felt your love. I'm on the road to recovery and incredibly grateful for all the blessings in my life.
"My first thought when I woke up in the hospital was my children.
"My second thought was that I did not want to disappoint anyone who bought tickets to my tour."
She went on: 'I also didn't want to let down the people who worked tirelessly with me over the last few months to create my show. I hate to disappoint anyone.
"My focus now is my health and getting stronger and I assure you, I'll be back with you as soon as I can!"
