Society Gists

US Secretary of State John Kerry broke his right femur in a cycling accident in Scionzier, France, on Sunday morning, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

The injury is near the site of a previous hip surgery, so Kerry will return to Boston on Sunday for treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital with his doctor who did the prior surgery, the spokesman said in a statement.

He was not, as reported earlier, en route to Boston on Sunday morning. Though a senior State Department official originally said that was the case, Kirby later said Kerry was resting comfortably at a Geneva hospital, where he would remain for the rest of the afternoon. He will depart for Boston on Sunday evening, Kirby said.

“In the interest of time, and so as not to further delay those traveling with him, we will dispatch his aircraft back to the United States with the traveling party aboard,” he said, adding that Kerry will fly on a plane “outfitted to ensure he remains comfortable and stable.”

Kerry regrets that he won’t be able to visit Spain as planned, and he also won’t be able to attend the Paris counter-ISIL coalition ministerial meeting on Tuesday. He will participate in the Paris meeting remotely, Kirby said.