(8 May 2013) SHOTLIST
1. Various of exterior of Shaukat Khanum hospital where politician and former cricketer Imran Khan is being treated
2. Doctor Faisal Sultan arriving for news conference
3. Cutaway of reporters
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Faisal Sultan, doctor treating Imran Khan:
"Mr Imran Khan is making steady progress. His treating team is very satisfied with the progress and they expect him to God Willing make a complete recovery in due time. The exact duration of how long he will require bed rest or immobilisation will be decided with them, as time goes on and we'll keep you posted and aware of that."
5. Cutaway of media
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Faisal Sultan, doctor treating Imran Khan:
"There is no skull fracture, first of all to clarify. There was a small scalp haematoma - scalp is the covering of the skull, haematoma is just a collection of blood - that was there and, of course, there was the spinous process of C3, which was a minimally displaced fracture of the tip of C3 spinous process."
7. Wide of news conference
STORYLINE
Prominent Pakistani politician Imran Khan is expected to make a full recovery despite fracturing three vertebrae and a rib in a dramatic fall at a political rally, his doctor said on Wednesday.
Khan, a former cricket legend whose party is a leading contender in this week's national elections, toppled about five metres (15 feet) off a forklift on Tuesday that was raising him and three guards to stage at a rally in the eastern city of Lahore.
The dramatic footage was broadcast repeatedly on local TV.
The 60-year-old Khan fractured a vertebra in his neck and two in his back in the fall, said his doctor, Faisal Sultan. He also cracked a rib and cut his head, but Sultan refuted earlier reports that Khan fractured his skull.
"There is no skull fracture, first of all to clarify. There was a small scalp haematoma - scalp is the covering of the skull, haematoma is just a collection of blood - that was there and, of course, there was the spinous process of C3, which was a minimally displaced fracture of the tip of C3 spinous process," said Sultan.
Khan will be kept on bed rest in the hospital for at least a few more days so doctors can conduct further examinations, Sultan said.
Two of the guards who feel with Khan have been treated for their injuries and discharged, while the third is still in the hospital and is scheduled to have an operation on his leg, Sultan said.
Khan's injuries will largely knock him out of the last few days of campaigning before the elections are held on May 11, although it's unclear whether he will try to address any political rallies by phone or video.
It's possible that Khan could benefit from the accident if Pakistanis choose to vote for him out of sympathy.
Hours after the fall, the charismatic politician gave an interview from his hospital bed. He was visibly shaken and had a cut on his forehead, but he was still asking people to vote for his party.
One of Khan's main competitors, former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, suspended his campaign for a day on Wednesday out of respect for his opponent.
The fall put a damper on what has been one of Pakistan's most dynamic election campaigns. Khan earned legendary status in the country when he led the underdog national team to a 1992 cricket World Cup victory, and had injected new energy into a political system long dominated by dynasties.
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