Obama injured while playing basketball, receives 12 stitches

By IBTimes Staff Reporter | November 27 2010 12:19 PM

US President Barack Obama was injured in a basketball game after he was accidentally elbowed by a fellow player late on Friday. According to the White House, the president received 12 stitches on his lips under anesthesia.

REUTERS/Jim Young

U.S. President Barack Obama walks back to his car after playing basketball at Fort McNair in Washington, November 26, 2010. White House spokesman announced "After being inadvertently hit with an opposing player's elbow in the lip while playing basketball with friends and family, the President received 12 stitches today administered by the White House Medical Unit."

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Obama was reportedly playing defense in the five-on-five game at Fort McNair military base when the mishap took place. It was the first time that Obama has injured himself in public over his more than two year stint in the White House.

The president received 12 stitches today, administered by the White House Medical Unit, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

He added that the medical unit that treated Obama used a smaller filament than typically used, which increases the number of stitches but makes a tighter stitch and results in a smaller scar.The injury now puts Obama on the list of presidential sporting mishaps. It can be recalled that in May 2004, Obama's predecessor George Bush sustained injuries while mountain biking.

The last three Presidents of the United States have frequently displayed their love for sport. Bill Clinton was a jogger, George W. Bush was into mountain biking and Obama played for the college basketball team. All three men also share a common interest in golf.