Liam Payne rushed to hospital in Italy: what is wrong with ex-One Direction star?

Former One Direction star Liam Payne is said to be “in a bad way” after being rushed to hospital in Italy with acute kidney pain.

According to reports, Payne was hospitalised this week while on a romantic break in Lake Como to celebrate his one-year anniversary with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy.

The news comes just three weeks after the 30-year-old said a “serious kidney infection” was forcing him to postpone a solo tour to North and South America.

Doctors “suspect underlying issue” - Payne source

Speaking to the tabloid newspaper The Sun, a source close to Payne said: “Liam is in a bad way but he’s in the best place he can be and finally doctors will be able to get to the bottom of what is going on.

“Naturally he is gutted that his and Kate’s trip to Lake Como has been ruined but at least she was there to help him when he fell ill.

“Doctors have warned him not to expect to be signed off to go home for at least another six days.

“They want to do every test possible to understand the issue fully but they now suspect that there has been an underlying issue for a while that has been getting worse.”

Payne’s mother: “I feel helpless”

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Payne’s mother, Karen, said: “We are all worried sick about it but we just have to get on. It’s horrible - him being all the way over there. He’s in Milan and it sounds like he’ll be there for a week. I feel helpless.

“All we can really do is sit it out here and hope for the best. There is nothing we can do. We feel helpless. It’s such a horrible situation and we just hope he’s in the best place possible.”

Before calling off his tour, Payne had been due to perform in Peru, Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico between 1 and 12 September.

“I was beyond excited to come play for you guys,” he said in a statement on social media. “To all of you who have bought tickets: I’m so sorry. We’re working to re-schedule the tour as soon as we possibly can”.