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Elton John

Elton John has thanked fans for the "avalanche of kindness" he has received following his recent hospitalization for a bacterial infection.

The Rocket Man singer became "violently ill" after contracting a "harmful and unusual" and "potentially deadly" bacterial infection during his recent South American tour and he was admitted to hospital immediately after he returned from Santiago, Chile last week, where he spent two days in intensive care.

He was released from the facility on Saturday and he scrapped his entire April and May run of The Million Dollar Piano shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to give him time to recover at home.

Since the news broke on Monday, Elton has received an outpouring of support and he took to social media on Tuesday to thank fans for their messages.

"Woke up this morning to an avalanche of kindness and well wishes. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude," he wrote across all his accounts. "Thanks so much to everyone for reaching out. I'm resting well, getting stronger every day and looking forward to getting back on tour in June. #EltonTour."

The 70-year-old is expected to give his first live performance in Twickenham in England on 3 June.

A statement issued earlier by his publicist read, "Thankfully, Elton's medical team identified this quickly and treated it (the infection) successfully. He is expected to make a full and complete recovery" and assured fans he is currently "comfortably resting at home per doctors advice".

The singer added in the statement: "I am so fortunate to have the most incredible and loyal fans and apologize for disappointing them. I am extremely grateful to the medical team for their excellence in looking after me so well."