Elton John is facing a shocking health crisis fans never saw coming. Sources exclusively tell Closer the beloved “Rocket Man” singer can barely walk and has resorted to desperate measures to keep his condition hidden.

In a recent red carpet appearance, Elton, 77, stunned fans by arriving in a custom purple golf cart — a move insiders claim was to hide the pop icon’s increasing reliance on a wheelchair.

“Elton refuses to be seen as weak,” says an insider. “He’s so determined to maintain his larger-than-life image — but the truth is he can hardly move without help!”

Adding to the “Your Song” hitmaker’s growing list of struggles is a devastating infection that has left him nearly blind in one eye.

“He doesn’t know where he’s going half the time,” says another insider. “That’s why the golf cart makes sense — it’s a way to hide the truth from the cameras.”

Adds the source, “Elton’s focus now is all about cementing his legacy. He wants to control the narrative of his life as an artist, husband and father — before someone else does it for him!”