SIMON Cowell’s brother has seen the lighter side of his harrowing electrical bike accident which broke his spine in three places.
The 60-year-old, who has since had six hours of spinal surgery to insert a metal rod in his back, was the butt of the tongue-in-cheek joke from sibling Tony, in a remark posted to his Twitter account.
Showbiz reporter Tony, who is 10 years Simon’s elder, uploaded a snap of a black bike perched against a wooden table at an al-fresco bar.
He quipped in the caption: “A bike. A normal bike. Much safer than electric bike. #Greece,” in a clear jibe at the dad of one.
No doubt the banter was in pure jest, and fans quickly commented underneath.
One wrote: “Hope bro is on the mend. X,” as another simply posted: “OUCH.”
Simon smashed three vertebrae when he was thrown from the super-powered electric bike and is recuperating at home in Malibu with partner Lauren Silverman, 43.
He was hurt when a £15,000 Swind EB-01 electric bike he was testing for the first time upended in front of his and Lauren’s kids.
He admitted he did not read the instructions before coming a cropper. A friend added: “The whole thing was caught on CCTV and the footage is horrific.”
Simon, worth an estimated £400million, had hoped to return to work imminently by recording segments to appear in the BGT semi-final but has decided to delay his public comeback.
Ashley Banjo, a former winner with his dance troupe Diversity, stepped in as his replacement until the boss can return.
He was praised by ITV viewers for his “honest” appraisals during the penultimate stage of the talent show.
Simon’s co-judge Amanda Holden exclusively told HOAR she feared the music mogul would die during the horror crash.
Amanda said: “I honestly panicked it could be fatal. It was gut-wrenching. I got a text in the night. I couldn’t sleep after.
“I felt physically sick as I didn’t know how bad it was. I didn’t know what was going on.
“I wanted him to be alive, but I also wanted him to be able to walk as he’s such a good friend.”
Simon aims to be back for the final of America’s Got Talent on September 24 – yet ITV insiders believe Simon will miss the BGT final.
An ITV source said: “He will not return to the panel in time for the final. He’s obviously a massive loss but we are happy with the very talented judging panel.”