‘We Move Forward’ – ryan

• Pete Townshend, co-founder of The Who, clarified Zac Starkey’s status with the band in a statement shared on April 19
• He noted that there has been “some communication issues” within the band that they were working on
• This comes after Starkey shared a statement earlier this week saying that he was parting ways with the band after 29 years

Drummer Zak Starkey is staying with The Who.

Pete Townshend, who co-founded the English rock band, clarified Starkey’s status with the band after the son of The Beatles drummer Sir Ringo Starr issued a statement earlier this week saying he was parting ways with the band after their recent round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall.

“(Zac is) not being asked to step down from The Who,” Townshend said in a statement on Instagram on Saturday, April 19, alongside a photo of him hugging Starkey on a stage.

“There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily,” he explained.

He noted that he and The Who singer and co-founder Roger Daltrey asked Zak to “tighten up his latest evolved drumming style to accommodate our non-orchestral line up,” which the drummer agreed to.

The guitarist also said that he takes “responsibility for some of the confusion, which came following a Metro report where Daltrey had repeatedly said he was struggling to hear over the drums during The Who’s Royal Albert Hall show last month. He also admitted that the shows “were a little tricky for me,” as he thought “four and a half weeks” would have been enough time to have recovered from “having a complete knee-replacement.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Maybe we didn’t put enough time into sound checks, giving us problems on stage,” Townshend continued. “The sound in the center of the stage is always the most difficult to work with. Roger did nothing wrong but fiddle with his in-ear monitors. Zak made a few mistakes and he has apologized. Albeit with a rubber duck drummer.”

“We are a family, this blew up very quickly and got too much oxygen. It’s over,” he continued. “We move forward now with optimism and fire in our bellies.”

This comes a few days after Starkey issued a statement on Instagram on April 16, saying that he planned to split off from the band to “take some much needed time off with my family.” He added in his statement that he wished the band “the best” after playing with them for 29 years.

A rep for the rock band also told The Independent at the time that the drummer’s departure was a “collective decision” made following their headline shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London last month.

“The band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak after this round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall,” they told the outlet. “They have nothing but admiration for him and wish him the very best for his future.”

Starkey has been a full-time drummer for The Who since their 1996 Quadrophenia tour. Earlier this year, Starkey suffered a blood clot in his leg and was forced to cancel a London gig with his indie band Mantra of the Cosmos.

At the time, a rep for the band told media outlets that Starkey was advised to take blood thinners for two weeks and rest to prevent additional clots. Starkey said in his most recent statement that he was “now completely healed” and that the injury did not “affect my drumming or running.”