Los Angeles, Nov 5 (IANS): Rock legend Bruce Springsteen is in “great shape” amid his recovery from peptic ulcer disease. His E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt recently made the revelation at the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The legendary guitarist, 72, said that he and the rest of Springsteen’s legendary backing band are excited to hit the road again soon, reports People magazine.

“"He's in great shape. We're gonna come back stronger than ever in March,” he told People, quoted by Female First UK. “It was a very, very intense first six months of the tour — maybe our most intense ever.”

He added: “And so we're gonna come back with that same intensity, and it's gonna be great.” Van Zandt also says that Springsteen and the E Street Band’s enduring intensity on stage is a “wonderful” thing. “Well, it's wonderful, isn't it? Because we were gone for seven years. So, you know, we weren't really sure what was gonna happen,” he said. “It could have been like, ‘E Street who?’”

“But we came back stronger than ever in terms of the business, in terms of enthusiasm. Everything sold out immediately,” the E Street Band icon continued. “So it was a wonderful surprise and, I think, just a tribute to the craft.” He added, “We spent so much time learning that craft, and Bruce's songs just hold up so well. And look (at) what's happening this week, in the past two weeks. We had a new Rolling Stones record, a new Beatles record … It just shows that people who work under craft tend to last a while.”

Van Zandt’s health update about Springsteen comes weeks after the ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ singer announced in late September that he was in the midst of treatment for peptic ulcer, and was pushing back the remainder of his 2023 tour dates as a result.