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Jimmy Barnes given the all clear by doctors to head home for Christmas after heart surgery

14:19 pm on 20 December 2023

Jimmy Barnes Photo: supplied

By Hanan Dervisevic, ABC News

Christmas has come early for Jimmy Barnes, who is currently recovering in hospital following open heart surgery.

His wife Jane posted an update on her husband's social media account to reveal he will be home in time for Christmas.

On Instagram, his wife wrote: "On the sixth day of Christmas my true love said to me … 'the doctor says I can go home on Friday'."

The good news comes after Jane shared an image of Jimmy on Tuesday lying in his hospital bed showing off his chest scar.

She has been sharing regular updates with fans on the 67-year-old's progress post-surgery via his social media channels.

Before his health scare, the music legend gave ABC News Breakfast a glimpse into the "chaotic" Christmas at the Barnes household.

"It's a big day. We're up all night getting it all set up … and by 5am or 6am, there's a lot of prep to do," Barnes said.

And not to mention how he "drives everyone crazy" from 6am on Christmas morning, playing loud music "to wake them all up".

Barnes's health timeline

It's been a year of health woes for Barnes, who was forced to abandon a planned tour in late 2022 to undergo emergency back and hip surgery due to "constant and severe pain".

And just last month, the Cold Chisel frontman was forced again to cancel planned performances when diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia.

He was initially expected to make a full recovery in days.

But two weeks later, he revealed the infection he had been battling spread to his heart and would need to undergo open heart surgery to replace an infected valve.

"Just a few weeks ago, I was the fittest I've been in decades! Anyway, as you can hopefully appreciate, this has all happened very suddenly so it's going to take a few days to figure out what's going to be doable with my upcoming shows," he said in a statement.

Barnes has since been recovering in hospital.

This story was originally published by the ABC.