US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is unable to travel to Moscow next week because she needs to continue physical therapy on her "shattered" elbow, a US official said Thursday.
A State Department official announced Wednesday that the chief US diplomat would not accompany President Barack Obama to Moscow for a summit with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, but gave no reason.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed that Clinton was receiving physical therapy and used a stronger adjective than officials had previously used to describe the injury she suffered on June 17.
"She shattered her elbow," the official told reporters when asked why she could not travel to Moscow. State Department officials had previously said the right-handed Clinton had "broken" or "fractured" her right elbow.
The official said Clinton telephoned her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to tell him "she's not in the position to go because of the therapy," but gave no details about where and when she received it.
The official said that there had been no "firm plans" for her to travel to Russia but added: "If she hadn't had this injury, she probably would have gone."
Obama is set to arrive in Moscow on Monday with his wife Michelle, for a visit which also includes talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Standing in for Clinton will be William Burns, the US under secretary of state for political affairs, the official said.
Burns also replaced Clinton last week at a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Eight leading industrial countries in Trieste, Italy.
Speaking to reporters at the daily briefing, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said he was not prepared to share details about her medical prognosis when asked about when she could resume a normal work and travel schedule.
Clinton worked from home on both Thursday and Tuesday this week, officials said.
"I do know that she's looking forward to resuming a full schedule," he said, adding she had a "pretty full schedule, anyway" while working from home or the office.
"But she looks forward, for example to going to India and Southeast Asia in a couple weeks," Kelly said.
Kelly said he doubted that Clinton would need further surgery in addition to the two-hour operation she underwent on June 19 at a hospital in Washington DC, but he did not know for sure.
The State Department released a statement at the time saying she was expected to "make a full recovery without lasting damage to her arm."
