SHEFFIELD, England -- Rick Allen, drummer for the heavy-metal rock group Def Leppard, was reported in stable condition after surgeons amputated his arm, which was severed in a New Year's Eve car crash.
Surgeons at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital decided to amputate the arm Friday after finding infection where the limb had been stitched following the accident Tuesday.
In a statement, the rock group's record company, Phonogram, said, 'Because of the extent of the infection, there was no alternative but to amputate.'
Allen, 21, was said to be in stable condition after his latest operation.
Earlier this week, surgeons had hoped to save the arm, especially after Allen's brother, Robert, reported the drummer had some feeling in his left hand.
Allen had flown back from the United States to spend the holidays with his parents in his hometown of Sheffield when the accident occurred.
His Corvette Stingray left the road and overturned near Sheffield, ripping his arm off at the shoulder. His Dutch girlfriend, Mirium Barendsen, was also injured in the accident but has been released from the hospital.
The clean-cut heavy metal band is largely unknown in Britain but were named America's most popular group in the Gallup Youth Poll last year. Def Leppard's 1983 album, 'Pyromania,' has sold 8 million copies.
Most of the band's members were still in Holland working on their next album when Allen's accident occurred.
