German Chancellor Scholz tweets picture of himself with black eye patch after jogging accident

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday tweeted a pirate-style picture of himself with a black eye patch and dark-red bruises on the right side of his face — the result of a jogging accident on the weekend.

“Am excited to see the memes," the chancellor wrote in the caption.

To deflect any possible worries about his health, on the photo, which appears to have been taken at the chancellery, Scholz smiled slightly and also wrote: “Thanks for the well wishes, it looks worse than it is!”

Scholz fell while jogging on Saturday and sustained bruises to his face, prompting him to cancel some appointments this weekend, the government said.

His spokesperson told reporters in Berlin later on Monday that the chancellor was doing well considering the circumstances.

“He was in quite a good mood this morning, but still looks a bit battered,” Steffen Hebestreit said adding that the photo was published “so that everyone can get used to how he will look in the next week or two.”

On Sunday, the 65-year-old German leader canceled appointments in the central Hesse region, where a state election is being held on Oct. 8.

Local media reported that Scholz fell while running in his hometown of Potsdam, which is 28 kilometers (17 miles) southwest of the German capital.

Scholz has led Germany since December 2021. He previously served as the country’s finance and labor minister, and as mayor of Hamburg.

In a profile on his party’s website, Scholz says that he hated sports when he was at school but acquired a taste for it from his wife, Britta Ernst. “Today I jog as often as I can,” he says.

Scholz says he tries to find time for jogging, rowing or walking two or three times a week and also enjoys cycling.