EXCLUSIVE: Inside Phil Collins' 'Agonizing' Last Days After Rumors Exploded Music Icon Was Receiving End-of-Life Care in Hospice

Phil Collins is battling through what friends tell RadarOnline.com are "agonizing" final days of illness, after false reports claiming the 74-year-old was in hospice swept the Internet.

The retired Genesis frontman is not receiving end-of-life care, but is instead in the hospital recovering from knee surgery.

A spokesperson has confirmed Collins, who has long struggled with serious health problems, is "very sick" but stable and not in a hospice.

The denial came after sick doctored photos of Sir Paul McCartney serenading Collins in a hospice bed went viral, prompting widespread speculation about the drumming songwriter's condition.

One close friend said: "Phil has been upfront that his health is fragile, but these hospice rumors were especially cruel. He's not in a hospice, but he is in pain every day – it's agonizing – but he's not yet quite at death's door.

"Seeing strangers invent a final farewell with Paul was devastating for him and his kids."

Another long-time associate claimed: "He is seriously unwell, and some days are very difficult for him. But to paint him as if he's in his very last hours is a lie.

"His family found the whole thing appalling – it was as if the Internet had written his obituary before the time of his death."

The manipulated images appeared on a Facebook group called Rock & Roll Universe, alongside a fabricated account of McCartney strumming Hey Jude at Collins' apparent bedside.

Fans were quick to notice McCartney, 83, was shown playing right-handed rather than left-handed, exposing the photos as fakes.

Still, the post spread widely before being debunked.

Comments under the post condemned the fabrication as "sick," "AI-generated nonsense," and "cruel." Some accused the creators of chasing clicks at the expense of dignity.

A third friend of Collins' said: "Phil has given his whole life to music, and the decline in his health has been agonizing for him emotionally as well as physically.

"To have that twisted into some sort of staged deathbed scene with Paul was shocking. It felt like he was being mocked when he's already suffering."

Collins has been in poor health for years, battling type 2 diabetes and complications from spinal injuries sustained during his decades as a drummer.

In 2009, he explained: "My vertebrae have been crushing my spinal cord because of the position I drum in. I can't even hold the sticks properly without it being painful.

"I even used to tape the sticks to my hands to get through. Don't worry, I can still sing."