Johnny Depp's Hand Injury Delaying Production on 'Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales'

Johnny Depp, 51, injured his hand early this month while in Australia for the location shoot of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and was immediately flown to the United States for surgery. The delay resulting from the injury was originally expected to cut into two weeks of filming after producers said there would be a "minimal impact" to the shoot. However, that break has now extended to at least four weeks after it was learned that Depp needed a pin inserted in a finger, according to The Hollywood Reporter [THR].

Resumption of filming would depend on Depp's return to the set. While filming that do not require the star's presence continued, the delay means that a sizable number of the 400-man crew working on the Disney project have been temporarily laid-off. Quoting from Fairfax Media, THR said "about half of the film's estimated 400 crew were told last Thursday there would be no more work for at least two weeks."

As to how he hurt his hand, there have been conflicting reports. The Daily Mail hinted that Depp may have snapped his wrist while go-karting on a private track at five-time MotoGP world champion Mick Doohan's luxurious Coomera property on March 10. But the Aussie local Gold Coast Bulletin gathered from an unnamed source that the actor, apparently still in his character as the rum-loving pirate Captain Sparrow, "was on a bender with mates at the house and apparently lost his cool - a la Russell Crowe - after he got into an argument with his wife (model and actress Amber Heard) on the phone.  He lashed out and hit a glass door and that's how he hurt his hand and a couple of fingers."

Aside from the surgery on his hand, it has been suggested that Depp may also receiving treatment for alcohol issues in the US. His older sister and personal assistant Christi Dembrowski is reportedly caring for him while he undergoes an alleged at-home rehab program to help him get himself back on the wagon, according to the Daily Mail. Depp, who has a known history of alcohol abuse, has reportedly sought treatment after a relapse in December last year. In a talk he then had with Rolling Stone magazine about his drinking problem, he famously said: "I just decided that I pretty much got everything I could out of it. I investigated wine and spirits thoroughly, and they certainly investigated me as well, and we found out that we got along beautifully, but maybe too well."