German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has published a photo of himself with an eye-patch after he fell while out jogging.

The incident occurred on Saturday near his home in Potsdam, near Berlin.

He cancelled regional election events on Sunday because of the accident, but will attend engagements as normal, including giving numerous public speeches over the next few days.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said it “looks worse than it is”.

The fall was not serious, but the photo shows some bruising around the eye, as well as on his nose and chin.

His spokesman said the chancellor was in a “good mood” but looked “battered”, and that Mr Scholz published the photo so people could get used to how he will look in the next few weeks.

In the post on X, he said he was “looking forward to the memes”.

Some social media users jokingly connected the injuries to rows within the governing coalition, while the internet site of the city of Cologne, which hosts a large annual carnival, suggested that revellers could come next year dressed as “Pirate Olaf”.