Trace Adkins leaves hospital

NASHVILLE, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Country star Trace Adkins was discharged from a Nashville-area hospital Thursday, two days after he sustained multiple injuries in an accident on his farm.

Doctors said Adkins suffered a crush injury to his chest, a rib-sternum separation and bruises to his shoulder and pelvis, after being pinned under a small tractor while he was building a gravel road.

A publicist for Adkins said the singer was going home to get some rest, and would be back on the road "before long."

"I spoke to Trace this morning and he sounded pretty good for having had a tractor accident," said spokeswoman Schatzi Hageman. "But then it could have just been that 'tough guy thang' where they don't like to whine about pain and stuff. He said he was feeling pretty good, just really sore."

Adkins was driving a small tractor -- called a mule -- at his farm near Rutherford County when a portion of the road gave way and the tractor tipped over, trapping Adkins under it. He was able to reach a cell phone in his overalls' bib pocket and call for help.

Hageman said previously scheduled concerts in San Antonio on Oct. 11 and Fort Worth on Oct. 12 have been canceled, along with a scheduled appearance on "Good Day Dallas."

Hageman said no decision had been made about a concert scheduled for Oct. 17 in Florence, S.C. Adkins is set to appear that night with Darryl Worley as part of the "Big Men of Country" tour.

Both performers are 6 feet 6 inches tall.

The accident is the latest in a long list of mishaps for Adkins.

He survived a bullet through the heart and lungs in an accidental shooting involving an ex-wife in the mid-'90's. As a teenager, he had his nose reattached after a car crash. He lost a fingertip while working on an oil drilling rig after attending Louisiana Tech University, where he sustained numerous injuries as a football player.

In April 2000, Adkins fractured the middle finger of his left hand, and crushed the tips of the middle and index finger, while moving rocks on his farm. A 400-pound boulder he had dislodged rolled onto his hand.

The previous year, Adkins broke his ankle when his pickup truck got stuck in the mud and he tried to push it out.

Hageman said there was no firm date yet for Adkins to return to the stage.

"I anticipate he'll recover soon and be back at it before long," she said. "Can't keep a roughneck down."

Adkins became a star in 1996 with his platinum-selling debut album "Dreamin' Out Loud." His most recent album, "Chrome," is still on the charts one year after its debut. The latest single, also titled "Chrome," recently entered the Billboard Country Singles chart at No. 39, according to Hageman.

Adkins is scheduled to travel to the Persian Gulf region on Nov. 27 for a USO tour over the Thanksgiving holiday.