Willie Nelson hospitalised after performance with breathing problems

The country legend later tweeted that he was suffering from altitude sickness, but was 'feeling better'

Willie Nelson was forced to cut his Salt Lake City concert short due to breathing problems, according to various reports from the scene.

Billboard states the 84-year-old singer was reportedly taken to a local hospital after exiting the stage during the early section of his performance at the USANA Amphitheatre.

Nelson has battled multiple health complaints in recent years, but took to Twitter to calm fans by stating that he was "feeling better", while blaming altitude sickness for his woes.

"This is Willie," he wrote. "I am sorry to have to cut the SLC show short tonight. The altitude got to me I am feeling better now & headed for lower ground."

A part of fans' alarm comes from the various rumours Nelson has recently been plagued with; his publicist Elaine Shock was forced to release a statement that the musician was "perfectly fine", after Radar Online quoted an anonymous source stating he was "deathly ill".

Several of his shows were cancelled at the start of the year due to a "bad cold", but Nelson has since returned to the road.

He's also no stranger to online death hoaxes, even addressing the matter in his song 'Still Not Dead', off his latest album God's Problem Child. The album debuted at the top of Billboard's Country Albums charts back in May, making it Nelson's 17th No. 1 on the chart.

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