Jimenez breaks leg skiing, will be out of action for three to five months

MALAGA, Spain -- Spanish golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez has broken his right shinbone and will be sidelined for three to five months.

Jimenez said in a statement Sunday that he had surgery on his leg after injuring it while skiing Saturday.

The 48-year-old, who became the oldest winner in European Tour history when he won in Hong Kong last month, was skiing in the Sierra Nevada mountain region of southern Spain when he fell. He was taken to the mountain medical center for an X-ray before being transferred to a hospital near his home in Malaga, where he was operated on that evening.

"I was going down a hill and lost control briefly and when I fell it was very sore," Jimenez said. "I knew immediately I had broken something.

"I was playing very well at the end of the season, so it is obviously not a good time for me to get injured," he added. "When I took up skiing, I knew the risks that I was taking, but I love it so much I could not stop."

Jimenez was a vice captain on Europe's Ryder Cup-winning team in September. In November, the 48-year-old Jimenez became the oldest European Tour winner by capturing his third Hong Kong Open title. He has 19 career European Tour titles.