Silverchair Drummer To Sue Gym Following Training Injury; May Never Tour Again

22 March 2017 | 9:25 am | Staff Writer

'It is unlikely that (Gillies) will ever achieve pre-injury level of drumming skills to enable him to tour or return to his previous ability.'

Ben Gillies (right) with Silverchair

Ben Gillies (right) with Silverchair

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Silverchair drummer Ben Gillies is suing a gym after he suffered a serious injury while training and is now at risk of never touring again. 

As Herald Sun reports, a writ lodged in the County Court alleges that while training at Melbourne Health and Fitness in early 2014, personal trainer Jeremy Strong insisted Gillies continue to bench press a weight that the musician claimed was "too heavy" which resulted in him seriously injuring his right shoulder. 

The writ continues that the 37-year-old was unable to drum for eight months after the injury which reportedly left him with a torn supraspinatus tendon, inflammation of the supraspinatus muscle, necrosis of the muscle and loss of shoulder girdle function and scarring.

It has been reported that he also suffered from anxiety and depression after suffering the injury. 

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Gillies alleges that Strong ignored his requests and instead increased the weight he was lifting twice. 

It has been reported that Gillies was also forced to knock back appearances on Aussie TV reality shows such as I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Celebrity Apprentice.

"It is unlikely, given the nature of his injury, that (Gillies) will ever achieve pre-injury level of drumming skills to enable him to tour or return to his previous ability," a statement reads.

"(Gillies) experiences severe pain and fatigue in his shoulder after drumming and, notwithstanding the deterioration in his skills, would not be able to undertake the gruelling demands a lengthy tour requires."

Gillies is seeking as-yet unspecified damages from the gym and Strong, as well as income lost on the TV roles he was forced to turn down due to the injury.

After Silverchair's indefinite hiatus in 2011, Gillies went on to form Bento the following year and released debut album, Diamond Days.

Gillies is set to release a solo album this year.