Washington: Having broken his right femur in bicycle crash, US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was forced to cut short his four-nation European tour, will on Monday return to Boston to seek treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital.
John Kerry who loves to cycle, carries his bike on almost all trips and was riding the same on Saturday when he hit a curb near Scionzier, France, about 40 kilometers southeast of the Swiss border.
Kerry's femur bone fracture will keep him from attending in person a crucial conference in Paris on combating the Islamic State.
However, he will attend the conference remotely, said the State Department.
“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. The Secretary plans to participate in the counter-ISIL coalition meeting remotely,” the State Department said.
Instead of John Kerry, Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken will be present at the anti-ISIS conference. Also, Obama's envoy for anti-ISIS coalition John Allen will attend the conference.
Deputy Secretary @ABlinken will travel to Paris to lead the U.S. delegation to the Counter-ISIL Coalition Ministerial http://t.co/QEPy816YbH
— Department of State (@StateDept) May 31, 2015
Kerry is stable and never lost consciousness, his injury is not life-threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery, said the US State Department in a statement.
“Secretary Kerry broke his right femur in a bicycling accident this morning in Scionzier, France. Given the injury is near the site of his prior hip surgery, he will return to Boston today to seek treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital with his doctor who did the prior surgery,” the USD statement added.
Kerry's fracture may result in his absence from attending key meetings in person, however it won't keep him from working and negotiating, claimed White House spokesperson Jen Psaki. In a tweet, she dared the hospital authorities to try to stop Kerry from working during his recovery.
I would love to see anyone at the hospital try to stop @JohnKerry from negotiating and working while recovering from breaking his leg.
— Jen Psaki (@Psaki44) May 31, 2015
Kerry was scheduled to return back to the US on Sunday evening but his flight was postponed for Monday, announced the State Department.
The Secretary had planned on flying back to the US this evening, but after further consultation it was sensible for him to remain in the hospital for observation overnight for purely precautionary measures and fly home tomorrow," spokesman John Kirby was quoted as saying.
