In a statement on Instagram(opens in new tab), WHITESNAKE said that Coverdale was under doctor's orders and had been told not to perform for five days: "This is obviously very sad for us, especially our band members that were getting to perform before hometown crowds; Michele Luppi, our Italian Stallion was looking forward to playing in Milan in front of his friends and family, and of course Dino Jelusic, the Pride of Croatia was going to be able to give his all, to his hometown of Zagreb.

 

"We regret that this is necessary in our attempt to get healthy and be able to finish the rest of our tour."

 

Coverdale's illness is the latest setback for the band, who were forced to cancel a show at the weekend at the Imperium Festival in Spain after drummer Tommy Aldridge fell ill. 

 

The cancellation drew a furious response from the festival's promotors, who accused WHITESNAKE of breaching their contract, of not communicating their reasons for cancelling the show, and of disrespecting the fans, adding, "they [the band] threatened us with denigrating the organisation, with absurd and unfounded complaints about organisational problems in order to be able to perform their show."