Rock Drummer Allen Has Severed Arm Reattached

Drummer Rick Allen of the rock group Def Leppard was improving today but still unconscious after surgery to reattach his severed left arm and doctors could not say if he will drum again.

Fans inundated Royal Hallamshire Hospital with telephone calls after the New Year’s Eve car crash in which the 21-year-old pop star’s left arm was severed.

An ambulance man picked up the arm and surgeons sewed it back on in two operations.

A hospital spokeswoman said doctors expect to be able to tell in a few days whether the micro-surgery was successful.

Allen’s Dutch girlfriend, Miriam Barendsen, 22, suffered head injuries in the crash but was being discharged from the hospital today, the spokeswoman said.

Def Leppard, which originated in Sheffield, has had its major success in the United States, where its album “Pyromania” has sold more than 6 million copies.