London, Aug 18

Doctor may have recommended hip replacement surgery to British celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, but he is trying to avoid it.

The 47-year-old is 20 years below Britain's average age of 67 for such procedures, but his doctors have informed him years of heavy martial arts workouts have taken a major toll on his body.

"My surgeon looked at my X-rays and said all he could see was just bone on bone - there was no fluid at all. He told me that if I wanted to keep doing my job there was no choice - I had to have the op... My hip problem is a combination of martial arts, a stretched leg which put my hips out of alignment and my (bad) back," Blumenthal told dailymail.co.uk.

However, Blumenthal is determined to put off scheduling the big operation, adding: "I want to put it off as long as possible. Partly because there's no guarantee how long the new hip will last."

By:IANS

img src: bbc.co.uk