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Kerry to return to U.S. Monday after breaking leg in France

Xinhua, June 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will remain in a Swiss hospital overnight and return to the U.S. on Monday after breaking his leg in a cycling accident, the State Department said.

"The Secretary had planned on flying back to the U.S. 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," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

The top U.S. diplomat "continues to be in great spirits and active. He has done a range of phone calls including with the President," Kirby said.

Earlier Sunday, 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 separate statement earlier in the day.

Kerry had scheduled to travel to Madrid later Sunday for meetings with Spanish officials before attending a meeting in Paris on Tuesday with U.S. 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. Endite