India, Sept. 5 -- America's Got Talent judge Howie Mandel has given fans a reassuring update on fellow judge Simon Cowell, confirming that his recent back surgery went smoothly just hours after the procedure took place.

Speaking exclusively to E! News on Thursday, Mandel said he had received word that the operation had gone well, even though he had not yet spoken to Cowell directly.

Simon Cowell AGT Absence: Why has Simon Cowell been missing from AGT?

Cowell has stepped away from the live rounds of America's Got Talent's twenty-first season to undergo what has been described as a previously planned procedure connected to lingering complications from a serious accident in 2020, when he broke his back in several places after falling from...