Back injury forces Simon Cowell off ‘America’s Got Talent’

MALIBU: Simon Cowell will miss the season’s start of “America’s Got Talent” live shows because of a back injury requiring surgery.

Cowell broke his back this week while testing his new electric bicycle at his home in California and was to undergo surgery that evening, according to a spokesperson for the entertainment mogul.

He will be absent when NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” kicks off its run of live shows beginning Tuesday and Wednesday, the network said on Sunday.