EDDIE VAN HALEN In 'Two And A Half Men'; Photos Available

Legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen will play himself in an episode of "Two and a Half Men" when the CBS comedy returns September 21. Executive producer Chuck Lorre approached the guitarist after learning he was a big fan of the sitcom. "He was gracious enough to do a cameo, which is really cool," Lorre told Entertainment Weekly.

Van Halen's scene was taped in early August in Burbank, California. Check out photos below.

Van Halen said, "I was asked to do a cameo for 'Two and a Half Men'. I typically shy away from these requests as I am not an actor, but [actor] Charlie [Sheen] and I are friends and since it was a scene with him, I agreed. Charlie and I had a great time, even though I was very nervous. The cast and crew were a pleasure to work with and helped me feel a little more at ease."

Eddie Van Halen revealed to Rolling Stone that he is recovering from delicate hand surgery due to a bone spur, a twisted tendon, and a cyst in the joint of his left thumb. He explained that the hand problems first popped up during VAN HALEN's last tour, saying, "During the last leg of our tour, I started developing pain in my thumb and my pinky. I didn't think much of it at the time. It got progressively worse to the point that about three months ago I wasn't able to play at all. My pinky and my thumb were totally locked up and felt like there was something broken."

He sought help from hand specialists in Dusseldorf, Germany, who at first were treating him for arthritis before further examinations showed the extent of the problem: "They said the only way to fix it was surgery, which of course scared the shit out of me, but I was told it was the only way to fix it. Surgery was a success, now I just have to let it heal. I am totally jazzed that they found the problem, fixed it and in about four months my hand will feel like I am 18 again. Thank God."

The stitches came out within a few days, and so far Van Halen's hand has regained its full reach. His recovery will be complete in four-to-six months. "In the meantime I am able to write a bit, but cannot overexert my hand because it needs to heal properly," he said.

Van Halen says that like all of VAN HALEN's albums, the seeds to all great material stems from jam sessions with brother Alex. "What I do on any record is I basically lock myself up in the studio with my brother, and we jam, and whatever comes out is what we (laughs) use," he said. "And a lot of the stuff we, we don't use, 'cause it's not good (laughs). But the good stuff we keep, and we just carry on from there."

VAN HALEN — featuring brothers Eddie and Alex, Eddie's son Wolfgang, and David Lee Roth — are expected to record a new album and tour sometime in 2010.

Photos below courtesy of Eddie Van Halen's MySpace page