China's Xi recovering from bad back: Sources

China’s leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping could make a public appearance as early as Saturday as he recovers from a bad back, sources said, dispelling rumours about his health after he dropped out of sight at the start of this month.

Xi has been out of the public eye for almost two weeks and has skipped meetings with foreign leaders and dignitaries, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Chinese officials have repeatedly refused to say what happened to him, fuelling speculation that has included Xi suffering a heart attack, a stroke, emergency cancer surgery and even an attempted assassination.

But three sources close to the Chinese leadership, who are familiar with internal accounts of Xi’s condition, said the 59-year-old has been nursing a back injury the entire time, obeying doctors’ orders to get more bed rest and undergo physiotherapy, while spending time preparing for the leadership transition later this year. “He is fine now. He went for physiotherapy for three days,” one source said. “He should make a public appearance soon.”