george]:\)2005

by Josh Grossberg
Dec 9, 2003, 1:30 PM PT


Ozzy Osbourne's must have the luck of the devil because it could've been
worse. A lot worse.

The Prince of F--king Darkness remains on a ventilator in intensive care,
after banging himself up pretty bad Monday when he wiped out on an
all-terrain vehicle while tooling around his country estate in southern
England.

According to publicist Cindy Gaugenti, Osbourne's condition is not
life-threatening, and he is expected to recover, though he did sustain
severe injuries, including eight broken ribs (upped from an initial count of
six), a fractured collarbone and a broken vertebra in his neck.

The 55-year-old rocker underwent an emergency operation at Wexham Park
Hospital in Sough, west of London, to lift his collarbone in order to
restore blood flow to a major artery and alleviate bleeding in the lungs.

Upon hearing of Ozzy's spill, Sharon Osbourne immediately left Los Angeles,
where she shoots her daytime talk show and hopped on the first available
flight to London to join daughter Kelly at Ozzy's bedside.

"Apparently, he was on his quad bike and he hit something, and he fell and
the bike landed on top of him," Sharon told reporters at London's Heathrow
Airport when she arrived earlier today.

Dr. **** Jack, the hospital medical director, said the Black Sabbath
frontman was making steady progress and did not suffer any paralysis.
Osbourne, Jack said, was "stable" and "comfortable" but would remain on the
ventilator for a few more days. Osbourne cannot talk because of the
ventilator, and he remains immobilized while doctors determine the extent of
his injuries.

Dr. Jack also said that Osbourne should recover, but he would be laid up for
a long time.

The accident will further delay Ozzy's European tour, which he put on hold
last month after announcing that the medication he was taking for his
worsening tremors had temporarily affected his singing voice. The tour was
supposed to begin next month.

Osbourne was in the U.K. promoting Tuesday's release of "Changes," a duet
with Kelly. The tune is expected to be a big competitor for the Christmas
number-one spot on Britain's single's charts.

There's no immediate word on how Ozzy's injuries will affect shooting on The
Osbournes. The third season began production a month ago and is slated to
begin airing Jan. 13.

When reached for comment Tuesday, an MTV spokesperson would only say, "Right
now our thoughts and concerns are for Ozzy's quick and full recovery."

Meanwhile, although Sharon has rushed to Ozzy's side, her talk show will
continue production, with guest hosts filling in the rest of this week. Subs
will include son Jack, 'N Syncer Lance Bass and actor Dan Cortese. Producers
said Tuesday that they hoped to have Sharon back next week.