Steven Adler is "alive and well" after accidentally stabbing himself

The former Guns N' Roses drummer has spoken out for the first time to insist to fans he is OK and hasn't axed any of his upcoming shows, after he was taken to hospital last month when he suffered a knife wound to his stomach.

Speaking in a video on his Facebook page, he said: "I'm really sorry about all this media confusion that's been going on.

"I'm alive and well. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody on July 12 at the Golden Nugget in [Las] Vegas and July 13 at this motorcycle rally in Oregon, which is gonna be bad to the bone. And I love everybody, and I can't wait to see and hug everybody. Thank you so much for your love and support."

Steven's first comments about the injury come after his publicist insisted the incident was an accident and not a suicide attempt.

His rep said "the stabbing was not a suicide attempt, and simply an accident", and described the injury as a "very minor, superficial wound".

They also insisted the musician - who has struggled in the past with addiction - has been sober for several years.

The stickman is best known for his time with 'Welcome To The Jungle' rockers, playing on full albums 'Appetite For Destruction' and 'G N' R Lies', and the song 'Civil War' on 'Use Your Illusion II'.

He was part of the original line-up alongside Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin, but he was sacked in 1990, with his drug use blamed by the other band members.

In 2011, Steven admitted he had tried to take his own life twice.

He said: "I was very miserable. Everything I'd worked my whole life for had been taken away from me. And it was the people I'd worked with that had turned on me. I didn't know what to do.

"From having hundreds of friends, to getting kicked out of the band by my best friend-and a guy who I was doing the drugs with! - it left me with no-one to turn to.

"I was very sad and lonely. My wife left me, and I didn't blame her. It's hard to watch someone you love trying to kill themselves. That's what I was doing."

This article was first published on BANG Showbiz and is republished here with permission.