Golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez breaks leg in skiing accident

                                     Golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez breaks leg in skiing accident

Miguel Angel Jimenez, the oldest golfer to win on the European Tour, but his spirit has a large dent in his hopes of expanding this record in 2013. The 48-year-old, who is known for his love of cigars and wine, are excluded for at least three months after breaking his leg while skiing in his native Spain at the weekend.

"When I went skiing I took risks, I knew, but I love it so much I could not stop," he told the European Tour website.

"I was coming down a hill and briefly lost control and fell when I was very painful. I knew right away I had broken something.

"The medical staff in the Sierra Nevada took me for an x-ray immediately and I am very grateful to them, and all the staff at the hospital for their quick and professional response."

The ruling was a broken tibia, just below the right knee, and he had surgery after he went to the hospital in Malaga. Jimenez was the oldest European Tour winner when he triumphed in Hong Kong in November, his 19th victory on the pitch.

"I was really playing well at the end of the season, so it's obviously not a good time for me to get hurt," said Jimenez, a three-time member of the winning European Ryder Cup team and a vice captain Jose Maria Olazabal at Medinah in years.

"It's not just bad news for me years out, however, and in just a few days I will open my new golf school near Torremolinos."