Sir Elton John suffered a "potentially deadly" bacterial infection during a tour, forcing him to spend two nights in intensive care and cancel concerts in the US, his management says.

The singer became violently ill at the end of a tour of South America last week, requiring him to return to the UK for urgent treatment.

Nine concerts that were due to be staged in Las Vegas and California over the next two weeks have been cancelled. Sir Elton is now resting at home.

A statement by his management said infections of the kind suffered by the star were "rare and potentially deadly". It gave no details.

"Thankfully, Elton's medical team identified this quickly and treated it successfully. He is expected to make a full and complete recovery," it added.

Sir Elton is due to resume his schedule of live performances in the UK on 3 June.