Carrie Underwood 'not ready' for public after 40 facial stitches

The US country singer, who originally only reported that the fall had left her with a broken wrist, revealed news of her more severe injuries in a post on her fan club website on Monday, Entertainment Tonight first reported.

Underwood said she had not been "ready" to talk about her facial injuries, due to the level of "uncertainty as to how things will end up".

???"In addition to breaking my wrist, I somehow managed to injure my face as well. I'll spare you the gruesome details, but when I came out of surgery the night of my fall, the doctor told Mike [Fisher, Underwood's ice hockey player husband] that he had put between 40 and 50 stitches in," Underwood wrote.

Since the incident, Underwood has posted one new picture of herself on social media - a selfie on her Instagram account promoting her fashion line, Calia by Carrie Underwood, which showed the singer's face largely hidden by a scarf. It is not known if the picture was taken after the incident.

Despite the uncertainty, Underwood said she was "grateful that it wasn't much, much worse", thanking her friends and family for their support.

"I am determined to make 2018 amazing and I want to share things with you along the way," she wrote. "And when I am ready to get in front of a camera, I want you all to understand why I might look a bit different."

Underwood, who won the fourth season of American Idol in 2005, spent the holiday break in her husband's native Canada.

She shared a snap of Fisher and their son, two-year-old Isaiah, enjoying the snow on her Instagram account on Sunday.

Fans have reacted to the news of Underwood's injuries on social media.