Jon Bon Jovi has compared recovering from a vocal cord injury to training for a marathon

During an interview on the Today show, Bon Jovi explained: "One of my cords was atrophied, and the strong one was pushing the weak one around, and this one was dying. The road's been long and tough, but I persevered."

He added of getting himself ready to go back on stage again for the band's upcoming Forever Tour: "[I feared I'd never perform again]. And then the next day, there'd be a little ray of hope. The next day was brighter.

"And until the next time, you get punched in the nose by some setback, you pick yourself up again and do it again ...

"It's like training for a marathon. Anyone can go for a run. Being able to go the distance is a whole different set of commitment.

"You have to physically, mentally and spiritually be ready to do that again."

The rocker also insisted he is going back on tour for the "joy" of being onstage, adding: "I'm not that applause junkie. I do it for the joy, and I do it for the art.

"The rest of it is great because I'm good at it. But if you couldn't do it from a place of joy, what's the motivation?

"I have other things in my life. It's what I do. It's not who I am."

The tour kicks off in New York on July 7 at Madison Square Garden, with additional dates on 9, 12, and 14 July, before moving to the UK and Ireland for shows at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium on 28 August, Dublin's Croke Park on 30 August, and concluding at London's Wembley Stadium on 4 September.

Bon Jovi added of the tour: "I think I can confidently say that I can go and do my two and a half hours, night after night after night. But I wouldn't do it unless it was that ...

"The good news is that I know that the band have my back and I can guarantee you that every person that will fill this house [the venues on tour] will be rooting for me."