Justin Bieber appears to have suffered 'quite severe loss' of movement in his face and could be left with paralysis 'long term', a neurological expert has suggested.
The Boyfriend hit-maker, 28, announced on Friday that he had been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, which saw his face become 'fully paralysed' down on side after a rare virus attacked the nerves in his ear.
After sharing the shock health update, the singer returned to Instagram to appeal to his huge following.
"Been getting progressively harder to eat which has been extremely frustrating.
"Please pray for me," he added.
Justin's Ramsay Hunt Syndrome has resulted in complete paralysis of the right side of his face and as a result of his sudden condition, the singer has had to cancel his upcoming tour dates.
Following Justin's diagnosis announcement, an expert in neurological rehabilitation at Oxford Brookes University has suggested that the pop star could have 'longterm' effects from the condition.
Although most people recover fully, Justin appears to have a 'serious case of the virus', according to Professor Derick Wade.
"I noticed that there wasn't any moment, so that is quite severe loss," he told Sky News.
"How well will it recover? He's already told you the answer to that."
Speaking to his Instagram fans on Friday, Justin said that his diagnosis feels 'serious' as he begged his followers to keep him in his prayers.
"It is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear in my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis," the 28-year-old told.
“As you can see, this eye is not blinking. I can’t smile on this side of my face. This nostril will not move, so there’s full paralysis on this side of my face.
"It's pretty serious, I wish this wasn't the case but obviously, my body's telling me I gotta slow down,"
"We don't know how much time it is going to be but it's going to be okay," he added.
In the video, Justin attempted to smile, blink, and move his face but one side remained still as he continued to speak.
“So for those who are frustrated by my cancelations of the next shows, I’m just physically, obviously not able of doing them. This is pretty serious as you can see. I wish this wasn’t the case but obviously my body is telling me I gotta slow down.
“I hope you guys understand, and I’ll be using this time to just rest and relax and get back to 100% so I can do what I was born to do. But in the meantime, this ain’t it.”
Since revealing his diagnosis, Bieber has received an outpouring of love for his honesty from celebrity friends including DJ Khaled, Romeo Beckham and his wife Hailey Bieber who wrote: “I love you baby.”
