What happened to Richie Sambora’s hand? Former Bon Jovi guitarist to undergo surgery

Richie Sambora, former singer of Bon Jovi, had a medical emergency recently. According to People Magazine, although he had a remarkable performance at the 2025 Kentucky Derby, he fractured his hand days before the show.

The surgery is scheduled for next week. Sambora injured his hand while playing touch football. A source, speaking to the magazine outlet, said:

“He caught a ball and some guy gave him a touch right into a curb. He was completely swollen, and fractured his hand in two places. He’ll undergo surgery next week.”

Richie Sambora took the stage on May 2, 2025, and played songs like Livin’ on a Prayer, It’s My Life, I’ll Be There for You, and Wanted Dead or Alive. The source mentioned that despite being in pain, he gave a powerful performance that thrilled the crowd.

His doctor had warned him not to attend the event, but Richie Sambora was determined to go anyway. The guitarist has been a regular attendee at the Kentucky Derby. At this year’s event, his custom guitar and lessons were put up for auction, which raised $35,000.

The money went to several charities as decided by the Unbridled Charitable Foundation. According to People, the guitarist said:

“I had a great gig at Unbridled and this is my 11th Derby. This is an amazing thing.”

When asked about auctioning off his guitar, he said:

“I have been doing that for 11 years and yeah, went really well like 35 grand. I think for children’s charity.”

Richie Sambora on leaving Bon Jovi and a possible return

Last year, Richie Sambora said he would be open to rejoining Bon Jovi once Jon Bon Jovi recovered from his vocal surgery. In an interview with UK Music Reviews, he looked back on why he exited the musical group, saying:

“To be honest with you I think that I had become burnt out simply because of all of the constant touring. I had missed an awful lot of my daughter’s life and she needed me right then and so I needed to be with her.”

When asked if leaving the band felt freeing, Richie Sambora said it did. He had been releasing solo music since 1991 and felt ready to return to singing on his own. That desire was one of the reasons he chose to leave.

He believed it was the right time to go solo and expressed pride in the 31 years he spent with the band, pointing out their groundbreaking work and their global fan base. Richie Sambora said:

“Jon is very happy with what he is currently doing, and I certainly am with what I am doing. But you never know what is in the future. I am not saying yay or nay.”

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Meanwhile, Jon later shared in an interview that no final decision had been made about Sambora coming back. He explained that while Sambora left the band over a decade ago and had faced personal struggles, there were no hard feelings.

Jon also pointed out that he had released four albums since Sambora’s departure and that the band had continued moving forward.

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