A recurrent movement disorder has forced the Montenegrin guitarist to take a break for up to a year.

Montenegrin guitarist Miloš Karadaglić has decided to withdraw from performance for up to a year as a result of a recurrent movement disorder. Karadaglić was forced to cancel a number of performances in 2015 and 2016 due to a hand injury and it appears that the condition has returned.

“My doctors have been very clear with me now,” the guitarist wrote in a statement on his Facebook page. “The kind of movement disorder I have is complex and uncompromising and it cannot resolve itself within a few weeks or months. Hence, I’ve been unanimously advised to withdraw from all concert engagements for at least this whole season and break the vicious cycle I have found myself in. It is so incredibly hard for me to accept this, but sadly, I have no other choice but to comply.”

This will come as a disappointment to Australian fans hoping to see Karadaglić perform with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Alondra de la Parra in Brisbane in 2017. Karadaglić was due to perform the Australian premiere of Howard Shore’s Guitar Concerto in August next year.

“Due to an injury, unfortunately Miloš Karadaglić has had to cancel all forthcoming engagements,” the Orchestra said in a statement. “QSO is working through an appropriate alternative for these concerts in August 2017, and will announce this as soon as arrangements have been finalised.”

“In the next year, while firmly on the quest to fully recover and play again, I am planning to focus my energy on other things that truly matter to me,” Karadaglić wrote on Facebook. “I am adamant in my promise that I will be back on a stage near you, sooner than you think, stronger and better than ever before. However, for now, I can only say, once again, how desperately sorry I am for the disappointment that this news will bring in amongst so many of you.”

Since the announcement, Karadaglić’s Facebook page has inundated with messages from fans wishing him a speedy recovery, prompting the guitarist to write: “I’ve been completely overwhelmed by messages of love and support written by so many of you. I feel incredibly touched and privileged to be in your thoughts at this hard time for me. Your warm words and understanding truly mean the world to me. I just wanted you to know that and to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Miloš Karadaglić’s full statement, published on his Facebook page October 18, 2016:

Published October 26, 2016: