Simon Cowell's son compared him to Ironman after he had surgery for breaking his back

He said: “I was so embarrassed about coming home looking about 100 because I couldn’t walk, and I have these metal rods in my back and these screws.

“I said, ‘Lauren, I just don’t know how to explain it to Eric.’ She obviously said something to him because he came in … and I was lying in bed and he said, ‘Daddy, you’re like Ironman,’ and I thought that was the sweetest thing and it meant a lot.”

Despite his shocking injury, the 'American Idol' star admitted things "could have been a lot worse" for him as he "nearly" ended up in a situation where he'd be unable to walk again.

He said: "It could have been a lot worse. When I saw the X-ray, I really nearly could have smashed my spine to pieces. So, I literally wouldn’t have been able to walk. I knew I’d broken my back the minute I landed. It was really, really kind of sudden and it hurt.”

And although patients in his condition are told they are "not supposed to move" after being injured, he wanted to do the opposite.

He said: “I was thinking, ‘I’ve got to get back into the house because I can’t lie there’ and made myself kind of get carried into my bedroom, which is right there at the beginning of the house. And I’m lying there and I’m kind of passing out … It was surreal.”

But now, Simon is feeling fitter than ever.

He added to 'Extra': “I’ve never been in this situation in my life where you literally can’t move. The pain was off the charts, but you’ve got to stay positive. I made a promise to myself I’d be fitter than I was before I had the accident. Sure enough, that’s what happened.”