Imran Khan expected to make full recovery soon: doctors

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan is expected to make a full recovery despite fracturing three vertebrae and a rib in a dramatic fall at a political rally, doctors treating him said today.

The 60-year-old Khan fractured a vertebra in his neck and two more in his back, Dr Faisal Sultan, a doctor at Shaukat Khanum Hospital, told a news conference this afternoon.

Khan also cracked a rib and cut his scalp, but reports that he had fractured his skull were incorrect, Sultan said.

"The spinal canal is intact and Imran Khan is in full control of all his limbs and his body functions," Sultan said.

"We are very confident that all these fractures will heal completely with time and allow him to be fully functional and fit as he always is."

The cricketer-turned-politician tumbled off a forklift that was raising him and three bodyguards to a stage in Lahore yesterday.

He fell and sustained injuries to the back and head.

Doctors have advised Khan to rest in hospital for a few more days so that they can conduct further tests, Sultan said.

The injuries will knock Khan out of the last few days of campaigning before the May 11 general election though he may address one or two more campaign meetings by phone, leaders of his Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party said.

Some commentators said Khan could benefit from the accident by gaining some sympathy votes.

Many analysts have tipped former premier Nawaz Sharif's as the front runner in the polls but Khan has made inroads in the most populous province of Punjab by wooing young and middle-class voters.