U.S. Secretary of State Kerry tweets photo of himself in hospital

[June 10, 2015]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was doing well and receiving physical therapy at a Boston hospital after surgery on a broken right leg but it was unclear when he would be released, the State Department said on Tuesday.

State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said Kerry was doing well and conducting business by telephone from Massachusetts General Hospital.

Rathke was asked at a daily briefing why Kerry has not been in the public eye since a cycling accident in Geneva on May 31 or why no images of him had been released.

"I don't have an announcement about ... dates or timelines," Rathke said.

In what appeared to be in response to the questions, Kerry, 71, later tweeted a photo of himself in hospital talking on the phone, wearing a denim shirt and blue hospital scrubs.

"Feeling good a week after surgery," Kerry tweeted. "Good chats today w/Ambassador Rice & @StateDept senior team. The work continues."

The State Department has said Kerry remains committed to the established timetable for Iran nuclear talks. The major powers negotiating with Iran over a final nuclear agreement in exchange for lifting economic sanctions on Tehran have a self-imposed June 30 deadline to reach an agreement.

"We believe it's achievable," Rathke said.

Rathke said there was no medical complication that would change that expectation. He said Kerry broke a "major bone" and he was working closely with doctors and making progress in his recovery.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Grant McCool)

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