Sir Rod Stewart has cancelled a string of concerts in the US as he recovers from flu, ahead of his Glastonbury legends set later this month.

The 80-year-old rock star is due to play the coveted teatime slot on Sunday, 29 June – 23 years after he last appeared at the Somerset festival.

Sir Rod announced on Instagram he was scrapping four dates and rescheduling another two that were due to take place over the next eight days.

“So sorry my friends,” he said. “I’m devastated and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to my fans. I’ll be back on stage and will see you soon.”

He signed off “Sir Rod”, along with a heartbreak emoji.

He also listed the four shows he was cancelling – in Las Vegas and Stateline, Nevada – as well as two he plans to reschedule in California.

Sir Rod previously said he intended to stop playing “large-scale world tours” at the end of 2025 and instead perform at more intimate venues.

But he said he was “proud, ready and more than able to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury” when he became the first act to be confirmed for this year’s festival.

He told That Peter Crouch Podcast he was only due to play for an hour and a quarter on the Pyramid Stage.

“But I’ve asked them ‘Please, another 15 minutes’ because I play for over two hours every night and it’s nothing,” he said.

He also told the podcast he would be performing at Glastonbury with his former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood.

Sir Rod’s most recent big performance came on 26 May at the American Music Awards (AMAs) in Las Vegas, where he was also presented with the lifetime achievement award by his children.

The father-of-eight seemed shocked to be introduced to the stage by five of his own grown-up children, before he later performed his 1988 track Forever Young.

Sir Rod’s best known solo songs include Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?, Every Beat Of My Heart, and Maggie May.

One of the best-selling artists of all time, he will follow in the footsteps of Dolly Parton, Barry Gibb, Shania Twain and Kylie Minogue by playing Glastonbury’s coveted Sunday afternoon slot.

The slot always draws one of the biggest crowds of the festival, and Sir Rod will become the first person to have been given legends billing and to have headlined the festival, following his previous appearance there in 2002 alongside Coldplay and Stereophonics.

The headliners this year at Worthy Farm are The 1975, Neil Young, and Olivia Rodrigo.