Simon Cowell will miss this week's episodes of America's Got Talent after breaking his back over the weekend.

The 60-year-old suffered the serious injury when he fell off his new electric bike at his home in Malibu, requiring him to undergo a five-hour surgery on Saturday night.

Cowell is now recovering in hospital but will not be well enough to make the first live shows of this season's AGT, which are due to air Tuesday night and Wednesday night on NBC.

Production of the current season has already been heavily disrupted by coronavirus, with the show having had to switch to a virtual format partway through the auditions stage as the pandemic struck.

The live shows will be filmed at Universal Studios Hollywood with COVID safety measures in place, while the studio audience has been swapped out for a virtual audience instead.