Jon Bon Jovi: 'I'd be hard-pressed to let Sambora back in the band'

Jon Bon Jovi appears to have severed ties with former bandmate Richie Sambora after revealing he'd be "hard-pressed" to let the guitarist rejoin the group.

After recently insisting he had no hard feelings about Sambora's decision to quit the band in 2013, the Bon Jovi frontman and his bandmates appear to have decided to make the guitarist's choice a permanent one.

In a new radio interview, the Living on a Prayer singer says, "I’d be hard-pressed to (allow him back), so would David (Bryan), so would Tico (Torres). It’d be a lot for us. After a year and a half and you miss 80 shows... I don’t think that’s possible."

Asked if he considered breaking up the group after his longtime partner quit 18 months ago, Bon Jovi adds, "There was no way that I was gonna break up the band. Why would David or Tico need to suffer and why would I have to suffer? And the record company doesn’t care and the touring company doesn’t care. It’s OK. It’s not a big deal."

The frontman reveals he is putting the finishing touches to the songwriting process for the band's next album.