Rock legend Jon Bon Jovi says he is on the long road to recovery after undergoing a "major reconstructive surgery" to mend a vocal cord injury.

According to People magazine, the procedure was conducted 19 months ago.

With the diagnosis, the 61-year-old singer-musician said he felt that "my craft was being taken from me".

"It's been a difficult road, but I found a doctor in Philadelphia who did something called a medialisation because one of my cords was literally atrophying. Sometimes people get nodules — that's pretty commonplace.

"Sometimes you (get) deviated septums, and things that (people have) done take (their) toll on (their) cords. The only thing that's ever been up my nose has been my finger," the Bon Jovi frontman explained in video footage taken during a Pollstar Live panel earlier this week.

The Grammy winner, known for songs such as "Livin' on a Prayer", "It's My Life" and "You Give Love A Bad Name", said doctors were able to repair the problem by putting a plastic implant in.

"For the last almost two years now, I've been in this rehab getting it back together. I'm getting very close to feeling like myself again," he added.

In a reference to his set at the MusiCares Person of the Year award ceremony on February 2, Bon Jovi said it was "my first live performance in two years".

"New record's done. So now I just want to get back to two and a half hours a night, four nights a week before I'm gonna go out there on the road for real. But I'm confident in my doctor," he added.

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