Bill Ward has said he misses his former Black Sabbath band members, but feels he has "lost a friend" in Ozzy Osbourne.

The 65-year-old drummer - who left the heavy metal group in 2012 saying he had not been offered a contract that was "signable" - told DC Heavy Metal he would consider returning to the group, if he felt healthy enough.

He revealed he was still in contact with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, but no longer felt able to trust Ozzy.

Bill said: "I miss playing with Terry, Geezer, just horribly. I absolutely miss him to death. And I miss playing with Tony just... every day. I mean every single day I - it just blows me away, man.

"And obviously I miss Oz. With Ozzy, I've lost a friend, as far as I'm concerned.

"A man that I dearly loved, and I still dearly love, but I've had to really now readjust just how much I'm going to trust and love him. He fired back on some pretty mean stuff in the press... Like with any of us, when we get hurt, we're going to pull back our love and our considerations for another human being when they kick out at you. So that's been a big loss."

The rocker revealed he had suffered a "horrible illness" in September 2013 which caused him to lose a lot of muscle, and he is still recovering.

But he revealed if he felt able to perform again to his full ability, he would like to reunite with the group.

He said: "I'll always have an open mind to playing with Black Sabbath. I love the band. I miss them terribly. And so my answer would be leaning towards if something could be worked out."

Tommy Clufetos is currently working as drummer with the band who are performing in London's Hyde Park this summer.