Arnie in hospital after motorbike crash

Arnold Schwarzenegger was hospitalised with several broken ribs after a weekend motorcycle accident, his publicist said today.

The 54-year-old star of the Terminator movies was resting at St John’s Health Centre in Santa Monica after the Sunday afternoon crash, publicist Jill Eisenstadt said.

Schwarzenegger, who is negotiating to appear in a third Terminator film, was ‘‘in good spirits, feeling sore, but otherwise fine,’’ she said.

‘‘Don’t worry,’’ the actor said in a statement. ‘‘This won’t affect my skiing with my family at Sun Valley (Idaho) this Christmas.’’

Details of the motorcycle accident, which also occurred in Santa Monica, were not immediately available.

Schwarzenegger underwent elective surgery to replace a heart valve in April 1997.

His new movie Collateral Damage, which was postponed after the September 11 attacks because it is about terrorism, is scheduled to open in February.