Ian McKellen Says His 'Injuries Improve Day by Day' but He Won't Return to Play After Falling Off Stage

Ian McKellen is taking time off while he continues to recover from a recent onstage fall in London.

On July 1, the producers of Player Kings announced in a statement that the actor's "doctors' advice is to take time off from work in order to fully recover" and that he will not return to take part in the play's upcoming July tour throughout the U.K.

"Ian continues to recuperate very well, but he needs the time to rest and ensure a complete recovery. We continue to send him our best wishes," the production wrote.

McKellen, 85, was injured during a performance of Player Kings, a reimagining of William Shakespeare's Henry VI, on June 17 when he lost his footing during a fight sequence, BBC News reported at the time.

Though the play's producers and McKellen himself said he was expected to make a full recovery following the incident, the actor will sit out from performances for at least another month.

"Two weeks after my accident onstage, my injuries improve day by day," McKellen said in a July 1 statement shared on social media by Player Kings. "It's with the greatest reluctance that I have accepted the medical advice to protect my full recovery by not working in the meantime."

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"I had been so looking forward to bringing Player Kings to theatre-goers in Bristol, Birmingham, Norwich and Newcastle," McKellen added. "But I can assure them that, with David Semark now playing Falstaff, Robert Icke's production and his acting company remain as dazzling as ever."

Player Kings canceled a performance on June 18 following McKellen's injury to allow the actor time to rest; theater staff evacuated the audience during the June 17 production of the play after McKellen fell off the stage, BBC News reported at the time.

McKellen thanked fans and well-wishers in a statement on June 18 shared with Variety, in which he indicated he wanted to return to the stage as quickly as possible.

“Since the accident, during a performance of Player Kings last night, my injuries have been diagnosed and treated by a series of experts, specialists and nurses working for the National Health Service,” he said at the time.

"To them, of course, I am hugely indebted. They have assured me that my recovery will be complete and speedy and I am looking forward to returning to work.”