German Chancellor Angela Merkel has fractured a bone in her pelvis in a cross-country skiing accident in Switzerland, her spokesman said. She also suffered heavy bruising in the accident, which she suffered while on vacation in the alpine Engadine region of eastern Switzerland.

She will have to remain lying down as much as possible in the next three weeks and several visits will be cancelled, explained Steffen Seibert. He called the injury “severe bruising linked with a partial fracture on the left, rear part of the pelvis.”

Merkel was not skiing fast at the time, the spokesman added. Immediately after the accident, during the Christmas holiday in December, Merkel was not aware that part of her pelvis had been fractured, he added. After her return to Berlin, she sought medical treatment for what she thought was bad bruising, and a so-called infraction – an incomplete bone fracture – was found in her pelvis.

He said Merkel has been advised to rest as much as possible over the next three weeks and not to fly. As a result, some meetings have been canceled – including a planned visit to Poland on Wednesday and a reception for the prime minister of Luxembourg on Thursday in Berlin.

Seibert said the Chancellor would, however, continue working at home, and would also head Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.