WASHINGTON/LONDON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fell and broke her elbow on Wednesday while en route to the White House but will resume her full duties soon as the top US diplomat, the State Department said.

Clinton will have surgery to repair her elbow in the next week, her chief of staff Cheryl Mills said in a statement released overnight.

"On the way to the White House late this afternoon, Secretary Clinton fell and suffered a right elbow fracture. She was treated at The George Washington University Hospital before heading home," Mills said.