Friends are worried that George Michael has become a ''recluse''.

The 51-year-old singer has allegedly ''cut himself off from the world'' and only allows his best friend David Austin to visit him at his North London home following a difficult few years which included a split from longtime love Kenny Goss and numerous health scares.

A source told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: ''Since splitting from Kenny and all his problems, he's just gone off the radar.

''People are just worried sick about him. He's just cut himself off from everyone.

''It was really down to Kenny that he was actually out- even if it was just going to the cinema locally or for a meal.

''He hasn't been seen out for months, he's self-conscious about the scars on his throat and head, caused by the M1 incident, and he's put on weight.''

Last year he fell out of a car on the fast lane of the M1 motorway and was airlifted to hospital and now he rarely leaves his house.

The insider said: ''He watches tons of DVDs, has staff to book his meals, such as pasta, and spends a lot of his time in his recording space writing but he turns down offers to collaborate with others.

''It's not good, creative or healthy.''