WASHINGTON, Nov 26 President Barack Obama received 12 stitches in his lip after being hit during a basketball game, the White House said on Friday.

“After being inadvertently hit with an opposing player's elbow in the lip while playing basketball with friends and family, the president received 12 stitches today administered by the White House Medical Unit,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, according to NBC News.

Mr Gibbs did not release the names of the people playing with the president. Mr Obama had travelled to Fort McNair with a group of family and friends for an early morning game of basketball. The president is a sports fan, roots for his hometown Chicago teams and has often gone golfing in addition to playing basketball.