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The Rolling Stones’ guitarist Ronnie Wood has expressed his gratitude to the doctors who treated him for a small lesion on his lung.

A spokesperson for Wood confirmed that doctors had discovered the growth during a routine medical screening. The lesion has been successfully removed via keyhole surgery and he will need no additional treatment. It is unknown if the lesion was benign or malignant.

The guitarist, who, as the baby of the band, turns 70 next week, said in statement: “I'm so grateful for modern screening which picked this up so early, and would like to thank all the doctors who treated me.”

Ronnie Wood gave up his smoking habit last year. He stopped drinking several years ago. The Mail quotes a source as saying: “Ronnie is giving [cigarettes] up for good. He's really serious about kicking the habit and has been constantly puffing on his vape stick. It's the longest he's gone without cigarettes in 50 years.

“While Sally is over the moon, Keith [Richards; his bandmate] has been telling everyone he looks ridiculous. Keith says giving up fags shows a complete lack of commitment, which has amused Ronnie no end. Keith jokingly told Ronnie they might as well not be pals seeing as they can no longer drink or smoke together anymore.”

The treatment will not affect The Rolling Stones’ upcoming No Filter European Tour which is scheduled to kick off in Hamburg on September 9. The band will also play in Switzerland, Italy, Holland and France. Unfortunately there are no UK dates.

The tour comes after a busy period for the veteran rockers. Their Exhibitionism exhibition was premiered at London’s Saatchi Gallery last year. It has since moved to New York and has now opened at Chicago’s Navy Pier. Their 23rd studio album, Blue And Lonesome, was released last December and saw the band returning to their blues roots with 12 cover versions. The album was critically acclaimed and it debuted in the UK album charts at Number One.