Washington, May 31 (IANS) US Secretary of State John Kerry will return to the US on Sunday after fracturing his leg in a cycling accident in France earlier in the day, the State Department said.
Kerry broke his right femur in the accident and, given the injury is near the site of his prior hip surgery, he will return to Boston to seek treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital with his doctor who did the prior surgery, his spokesman John Kirby said.
Kerry fell as he was riding at a low speed at the start of a challenging climb up the Col de la Colombire, a mountain pass in the Alps, according to reports from French media.
“The Secretary is stable and never lost consciousness, his injury is not life-threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery,” Kirby said in a statement, adding that Kerry is “in good spirits.”
The top US diplomat was scheduled to travel to Madrid later on Sunday for meetings with Spanish officials before attending a meeting in Paris on Tuesday with US allies in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
“The Secretary very much regrets not being able to visit Spain to meet with one of our close allies for discussions on a range of issues, as well as being unable to attend the counter-ISIL coalition ministerial meeting on Tuesday in Paris in person,” Kirby said, using an alternate acronym for the extremist group.
Kerry plans to participate in the counter-IS coalition meeting remotely, Kirby added.