Megadeth recently announced guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari of Wintersun would be filling in for guitarist Kiko Loureiro at the band’s live shows. At the time, both Megadeth and Loureiro only noted that the situation was temporary and due to unspecified family matters. Or in Loureiro‘s own words, “I have to leave the tour for now, to be home with my children, and to help them face the difficult challenges that arise from us being ‘Dads that work away from home.'”

Now in a new interview with Ultimate Guitar, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine revealed that he’s not sure when Loureiro is coming back. Mustaine began by answering the interviewer’s question about if Megadeth had plans to work with Marty Friedman again, and segued into Loureiro‘s absence from there.

“I don’t know. It’s a very interesting idea. Marty is a really talented person. I don’t know for sure, but I think this is an area where I need to just talk with my partner and see how he feels about having another guitar player come up there and jam. Because sometimes guys get their feelings hurt, and I don’t know that that’s possible between Kiko [Loureiro] and Marty – because I think they both have a really high admiration of each other. But more importantly than what I would do with Marty right now is what I’m going to do with Kiko – because I love the guy and I want him to get whatever he’s going through worked out.”

“And fortunately, he had mentioned the name of a guy, Teemu Mäntysaari. Teemu came out, and he was prepared. Like I said, I don’t know when Kiko is coming back. He won’t be back for this run [of tour dates]. He’s at home, and he’s soldiering on – for lack of a better term – and working through whatever it is he needs to get through. Out of respect for him, I didn’t pry and ask what exactly it was – because it’s really none of my business unless he tells me. But I think for any of the fans that are going to say, ‘How’s it going to sound? What’s it going to be like?’

“Don’t worry. I’ve picked good guitar players in the past, and I train them well. Teemu is very capable of playing these songs. In fact, we’re adding new songs to the set. That is really exciting, too. I wish Kiko the very best – I love him, and I hope to get some good news from him soon.”