The statement read in part: “After consultation with a number of Doctors & Orthopedic Specialists over the past ten days, Durst was told that a ‘Mandatory’ rest period of at least two weeks was needed from all physical activities to allow the injury, identified by MRI as a ‘stress fracture to the fifth lumbar vertebrae’ to begin to heal. He will then undergo a period of gradual recovery and physical rehabilitation.”

Shows in Germany, Switzerland, England and Ireland where dropped and will not be rescheduled.

It wasn’t Durst’s vertebrae that concerned a number of European promoters during the band’s tour. The outing hit the U.K. with the band arguing with venue representatives over crowd safety and threatening to pull shows.

None of the three arena venues on the schedule were happy with the way the band wanted the barrier configured (The Bizkit camp wanted to use a second barrier as an added safety measure but the arrangement was problematic for the venues.) and the first London gig at Wembley Arena (June 6) only went ahead after the metal hip-hop merchants threatened to nix the gig and then backed down.

The band has been on a crowd safety crusade since a 15-year-old girl died from a heart attack caused by a crowd crush in the mosh pit during a Big Day Out show in Australia in January.

Staff at the 11,000-capacity venue were so concerned that they contacted Brent District Council – which licenses the venue – and a compromise was reached.

After two Wembley sellouts, Limp Bizkit moved on to the 9,300-capacity Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow June 9.

SECC Operations Director Malcolm Close – who had been to the first Wembley show to check the barrier configuration and the crowd reaction – also gained agreement from the band that a second barrier wouldn’t be used.

“The problem we would have had with the secondary barrier was because the SECC is wider than it is deep,” Close said. “We felt it might have just got lost in the middle of the crowd. The security staff would also have had problems accessing it.”

After the relative calm of the SECC show, things sparked again at the 14,900-capacity Manchester Evening News Arena on June 10, where there were further threats from the band about a last-minute cancellation.

“They threatened to pull the show two or three times. They were just at it all day,” said Liam Boyland, the venue’s events manager. “The local authority weren’t happy with the second barrier, and we agreed with them. Anyone who was injured as a result of being pressed against that barrier would have to have been carried to safety through the crowd.

“The crew and security continually threatened to pull a show in a venue that they’ve never worked in. They’ll tell you that [Fred Durst] will walk into the audience at some point during the show, but they won’t tell you at which point. This understandably caused us great concern.”

Mick Upton of Showsec – an acknowledged crowd safety expert who heard of the problem and went to Wembley to satisfy his own professional curiosity – said, “It’s all very well having a second wavebreaker barrier, but sometimes it has to be questioned what it’s there for. It can be useful to halt a dynamic crowd surge, but each venue has to look at how it fits into the layout of the building. For example, having it from one side of the hall to the other can restrict exits for some of the crowd, thereby making it harder to evacuate a building.

“It’s not only a question of that, either. There’s various other considerations including the shape of the room, the style of the act, and the expected audience reaction. When I got to the show, the second barrier wasn’t being used, and the front-of-stage curved pit barrier was perfectly adequate for the job.”