Sources close to Lanois say that the 58 year old songwriter and producer is speaking freely, is in a lot of pain, saying he has "broken a lot of bones".

Lanois rose to prominence with his ground breaking production work with U2 on their Joshua Tree album and Bob Dylan's Time Out of Mind, as well as collaborating with artists such as Tom Waits, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel and Emmylou Harris.

He is expected to be released from intensive care shortly, but it is believed that his busy schedule for 2010, which included a tour with his new band, and work on a new U2 album will inevitably be set back.

he most recently produced U2's No Line on the Horizon as well as an album by his own newly formed band Black Dub, which was due for promotion and release this year which was set to include an extensive world tour.