Niall Horan needs to have a knee injection before he can tour properly again.

The former One Direction star, 29, is due to hit the road in 2024 to promote his new album 'The Show' - which is out on June 9 - and explained that because of an injury he sustained during his time with the multi-million-selling boyband and has now explained that he is in need of a medical procedure so he can take to the stage safely.

He is quoted by The Daily Star newspaper's Wired column as saying: "I had knee reconstruction in 2014. That one has a big zipper down the front of it - that’s fine. The other one 1 just tore the tendon that keeps my kneecap in place. I did an abrupt stop and felt it pop then fell on the floor like a sack of s***.

"So now I have to get an injection into my knee, then they spin the blood and take it out. I've been putting it off, pretending I'm busy because I don't want to feel the pain but I do need to get that done because running around the stage will be no fun. I can't actually run at the minute - I can barely walk!"

Meanwhile, the 'Heaven' hitmaker is also due to take to the stage at a series of festivals across the summer - including the Capital Summertime Ball at Wembley Arena - and sees the whole venture as a "challenge" to convert the regular festivalgoers beyond the diehards at the front int fans of his.

He added: "It's something I've never done before, That idea of knowing that the pit and first few thousand past the barrier are going to be fans. Then I just want to get that drunk person on the way to the burger van. I want them to be become Niall Horan fans. I see it as a challenge for the next few months!”