British musician Liam Payne has delayed his upcoming tour after suffering a "serious kidney infection".

In a post on Instagram, the former One Direction star said he has postponed his performances in South America after being taken to hospital.

"It’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we have no other choice but to postpone my upcoming tour of South America,” Payne wrote alongside a video message for his fans.

“Over the past week I’ve been in hospital with a serious kidney infection, it’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and doctors orders are that I now need to rest and recover," the singer added.

In the video message, Payne said he’s been “a little bit unwell recently” and was midway into rehearsals for the tour, which was set to kick off in Peru capital Lima on September 1.

“I’ve just been advised that now is really not the time to be out on the road trying to recover from this,” Payne said.

Once he has recovered, he will return with an "even bigger, better show", he added.

Payne embarked on a solo career after One Direction announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus in 2015.

He was part of the band's original team alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles.

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