Ronnie Wood May Be 'Sacked' From Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are reportedly on the verge of kicking guitarist Ronnie Wood out of the band, their patience said to be wearing thin because of his excessive drinking and arrest for an alleged assault on his 21-year-old former girlfriend Ekaterina Ivanova.

Mick Jagger is said to be seeking a replacement guitarist for the band's 2010 tour, with Wood becoming unreliable without former wife Jo, who apparently acted as a conduit between Wood and the rest of the band.

A "friend of the band" reportedly told the Daily Mail, "It's one thing to say, 'Let's have the Stones frightening the grannies, let's be all debauched and wild' but it's just not acceptable to have one seen choking his girlfriend.

"There are two things you can't be seen to do, which are hit women and get involved with underage girls. Thanks to Ronnie and Bill Wyman [who dated Mandy Smith, who he later married, when she was 13], Mick has had a full house now."

It is also said that the 62-year-old's chaotic lifestyle has meant the Stones would struggle to secure medical insurance for him, thus making him a massive financial risk.

Insiders say Wood has had a long-standing rift with Keith Richards stretching back some years, to add to Jagger's growing frustrations with his bandmate. Ivanova, meanwhile, has described her ex as "an evil goblin king."

Wood was released on bail after the alleged assault until a later date in January, pending "further enquiries."