Madonna Forced To Keep Up With Dancers 'A Fraction Of Her Age' Before Falling Ill - & May Need To 'Rethink' Tour Following Infection!

Madonna‘s friend is opening up about why she was pushing herself so hard before getting sick.

The 64-year-old queen of pop was briefly hospitalized over the weekend after falling ill with a “serious bacterial infection.” The good news is that she is already back home and resting, per doctor’s orders, but her condition sounds very severe. According to some sources, the infection reportedly grew worse as Madonna chose to ignore her month-long symptoms and focus all her energy on prepping for her upcoming tour — putting in 12-hour days and working until 3:30 in the morning!

On Friday, a friend of the Queen of Pop’s told Page Six that Madonna “has always been a perfectionist” when it comes to her work, sharing:

“She is the one constantly pushing herself, but she has to realize that, while she is as good as the people she is working with, many of them are a fraction of her age and without her history of injuries. […] Of course, there are other acts older than her still on the road, but they aren’t dancing and performing like she does.”

That said, the insider stressed that the kind of infection Madonna contracted was NOT due to the rehearsals, saying:

“But while this sort of illness could affect anyone of any age — and she certainly did not bring this on herself — it is also a reminder that she is as human and as frail as the rest of us.”

Madonna, on the other hand, seems to think she’s invincible. Or she did before she got sick! Some sources told the outlet the Material Girl artist was insisting on longer rehearsals, even against the better judgment of those around her.

Discussing why the tour is so important to the Grammy winner, her bestie dished:

“She knows how much her fans [have] been looking forward to this retrospective tour — it’s sold out around the world — and she wanted to give them her best. Seeing how well the tickets had sold had really motivated her because it showed how much people wanted to see her. She really led the way for shows which were as aesthetically entertaining as musically and she doesn’t want to disappoint her fans. But she maybe has to learn that while she has incredible stamina, she demands too much from herself.”

At the end of the day, her fans just want her to be happy and healthy! Her well-being is all that matters now. When the time is right and she is back to full strength again, we have no doubt she’ll put on an incredible concert!! Speaking of, a source close to the production said the rehearsal schedule was actually designed to simulate the hours the performer would be working during the tour. Because of this health challenge, the friend thinks they will need to add more “rest days” into the travels:

“They were going in hard because they wanted to see if she could handle performing most nights — now they are going to have to rethink the whole schedule.”

They added: