Gandolfini's surgery delays 'Sopranos'

The Sopranos star James Gandolfini has had to undergo "unexpected" knee surgery, resulting in a delay in showing the final episodes of the hit show.

Although Gandolfini's surgery itself has only pushed the original January release date back by a few weeks, the start of the season has been delayed further in order to avoid a clash with the Super Bowl in America.

HBO chairman Chris Albrecht confirmed that the remaining instalments will be delayed by roughly two months, Associated Press reports.

Albrecht promised that it would be worth the wait though. He told the Television Critics Association: "I know the story lines for the final eight [episodes], and I am absolutely positively certain that when the curtain comes down on Sopranos, the vast, vast, vast majority of people will say it's one of the great things of all time."