Foo Fighters on Tuesday called off the rest of a European tour after frontman Dave Grohl broke his leg in a concert -- only to spectacularly complete the show in a cast.

Grohl, in his first extensive comments on his mishap Friday, said that he had hoped to show similar stamina by pressing on with the tour but that doctors told him he needed to keep his leg elevated.

"It kills me to say it... the doctors have told us to cancel shows," said Grohl, who was earlier the drummer for Nirvana.

"But for now, I need to make sure we have YEARS of gigs ahead of us," Grohl wrote on Foo Fighters' website, where a graphic showed him in a medical examination with a broken heart.

Foo Fighters canceled five remaining performances in Europe including the Glastonbury festival in England, where the alternative rock giants had been the scheduled headliner for June 26.

The influential festival said in a statement that it was looking for a new headliner for the day.

Foo Fighters, who also canceled two shows at London's Wembley Stadium, are next slated to perform on July 4 at Washington's RFK stadium.

The show is meant to celebrate Foo Fighters' 20th anniversary as well as highlight Grohl's recent television series on American music, with the band due to appear in Washington with major music figures including Chicago blues guitarist Buddy Guy.

Grohl fell some 12 feet (3.5 meters) off stage Friday in Gothenburg, Sweden, during the second song of the set, "Monkey Wrench."

"As I lay there on my back, I just thought, 'Are you kidding me? We haven't even gotten to the screamy bit of the song and the gig is fucking OVER?'" he wrote.

Grohl, 46, was rushed to a hospital and returned an hour later, performing as a medic -- identified as Johan -- held his leg in a cast.

"It was without a doubt the single most bizarre Foo Fighters show in the entire 20 years of being a band. Hands down," Grohl wrote.

"What seemed like a tragedy at first turned into a triumph, and we all walked away with a new sense of appreciation for what we've got."

Despite Nirvana's dark past Grohl has long had a reputation for his geniality. He frequently performs shows on behalf of progressive and charitable causes.