LeAnn Rimes undergoes surgery for leg infection

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Country music singer LeAnn Rimes
underwent outpatient surgery on Tuesday for an infected leg
injury, forcing her to cancel three upcoming weekend
appearances while she recovers, her publicist said.

Rimes, 23, who resides in Nashville, Tennessee, took time
out of her “This Woman” tour to undergo the operation at an
undisclosed Los Angeles hospital and will remain in the area
during her recuperation, spokeswoman Diana Baron told Reuters.

“The surgery went well, and she’s absolutely fine,” Baron
said, adding that Rimes is expected to resume her performance
schedule with engagements on July 19-20 at the Country Thunder
USA and Country Jam USA festivals in Wisconsin.

But she was forced to scrub three dates this week — one on
Wednesday in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, and back-to-back
shows on Thursday and Friday in Niagara Falls, Ontario — while
she heals from the surgery.

Baron said Rimes suffered a “tear in the tissue” of one of
her legs, which then became infected, requiring immediate
attention. She gave no further details of the nature of the
singer’s injury or how it was sustained.

Last April, Rimes was briefly sidelined by a burst blood
vessel in her throat, which kept her from using her voice for
two weeks. The following month, she was forced to miss an
appearance at the Country Music Association festival due to
long-overdue dental surgery.

The two-time Grammy Award winner has been touring in
support of her latest album, “This Woman,” which has produced
four hit singles, the latest of which, “Something’s Gotta
Give,” topped Billboard’s country singles chart last month.

Rimes, born in Jackson, Mississippi, and raised in Garland,
Texas, burst on the scene at the age of 13 with her debut
single “Blue.”