Rolling Stones' lead guitarist Keith Richards was discharged from a New Zealand hospital after surgery to relieve pressure on his brain following a fall, the band's record company said on Thursday.

Rolling Stones' lead guitarist Keith Richards was discharged from a New Zealand hospital on Thursday after surgery to relieve pressure on his brain following a fall. A joint press release from Rogers & Cowan and LD Communications said he had left the private Ascot Hospital in Auckland, but would be returning as an outpatient for check-ups. Richards, 62, suffered his injury April 27 while holidaying in Fiji. News reports have variously claimed that he fell out of a palm tree or from a jet ski.

A joint press release from Rogers & Cowan and LD Communications said he had left the private Ascot Hospital in Auckland, where he was taken last week after his accident in Fiji, but would be returning as an outpatient for check-ups.

The aging rocker appeared to be in good spirits as he briskly walked out the back door of the hospital accompanied by three bodyguards, according to the Dominion Post newspaper of Wellington.

"He looked good, quite fine," according to Phil Walter, a photographer who was on the scene. "He was walking quite briskly."

Richards, 62, suffered his injury April 27 while holidaying in Fiji with his wife Patti following a Rolling Stones tour of New Zealand and Australia. News reports have variously claimed that he fell out of a palm tree or from a jet ski. After he complained about headaches, doctors operated, drilling a small hole in his skull to drain blood.

He left a note that thanked the hospital staff for what he termed the "truly wonderful" care he received in the hospital, according to an article today in the New Zealand Herald.

"From the doctors to the beautiful ladies who make painful nights less painful and shorter, I'm pretty much at a loss for words to express my deep gratitude," he said, according to news reports.

Richard's illness will delay the Stones' Bigger Bang European tour, which was scheduled to start in Barcelona, Spain on May 27, until June, London-based publicists LD Communications said earlier this week.

Editor: Donald