Faith Hill on Bended Knee

01/16/2008 4:00 PM, E! Online


Faith Hill is bowed but not broken. 

The country superstar had to take a brief timeout from recording her upcoming Christmas album to have knee surgery, but it hasn't stopped her from diving headfirst into 2008. 

"Who has time to slow down?" Hill said in a statement released by her publicist, Paul Freundlich. "Doctors had told me to stay off my feet for a bit and now I'm following their rehab program. I intend to be back better and stronger."   

Hill had to go under the knife to treat an old knee injury suffered during her days as a high school softball player, made only worse for wear over the years. Surgeons had to realign her kneecap and repair cartilage, meaning the Grammy winner had to just sit around and "Breathe" for awhile.

But not for long. Freundlich said that she has remained busy working on her much-anticipated Christmas album, due out sometime this year, and preparing for her appearance Feb. 8 at the Recording Academy's MusiCares Person of the Year gala honoring Aretha Franklin.   

Hills' holiday spirit can also be heard on "The First Noël," her recent duet with Josh Groban that's included in the easy-listening phenom's smash hit album Noël, which became the bestselling album of 2007 after getting a boost from the Santa Clause of talk shows, Oprah Winfrey.

Per the singer's Website, she and hubby Tim McGraw are still scheduled to perform two concerts—one private, one public—at Schermerhorn Symphony Hall in Nashville to benefit the area's Habitat for Humanity program.