Eric Clapton struggling to play guitar due to nervous system damage

Eric Clapton has revealed he has been in pain for a year and has been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy - a disease that could impair movement.

"I've had quite a lot of pain over the last year. It started with lower back pain and turned into what they call peripheral neuropathy, which is where you feel like you have electric shocks going down your leg," Clapton said to Classic Rock, "And I've had to figure out how to deal with some other things from getting old."

Moreover, he told the Daily Mail, "I can still play. I mean, it’s hard work sometimes, the physical side of it - just getting old, man, is hard."

Clapton, 71, added that he's lucky to be standing this long due to his history of drug and alcohol abuse.

"By rights I should have kicked the bucket a long time ago," he said, "For some reason I was plucked from the jaws of hell and given another chance.”

As well as a successful solo career, Clapton has been associated with some of the most popular rock bands of the '60s and '70s, including The Yardbirds, Cream and Derek and the Dominos. His latest album, I Still Do, was released on May 20 and reached #6 on the U.S. Billboard 200. He's the only artist to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times (once as a solo artist, once for The Yardbirds and once for Cream).

Here's hoping Clapton can keep rocking long into the future.