Herbert Knosowski / AP file

Kevin Ellis was injured Thursday while competing against members of the U.S. luge team in a made-for-TV, non-Olympic sledding event.

updated 12:22 a.m. ET Feb. 25, 2006

CESANA, Italy - U.S. skeleton Olympian Kevin Ellis had surgery Friday to stabilize his broken back, which he hurt while competing in a friendly tobogganing competition between members of the skeleton and luge teams.

Ellis has movement in his arms and legs. U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Darryl Seibel said the surgery on his vertebra went well and that the USOC’s medical staff expects Ellis to make a complete recovery — although it’s still unclear when, or if, he’ll be able to return to racing.

“I feel very lucky that things went well for me,” Ellis said in a statement released by the USOC.

The procedure at CTO Hospital in Turin lasted 5½ hours, said hospital spokeswoman Laura Capponi. Some of Ellis’ friends and family members were planning to arrive at the hospital either later Friday or on Saturday.

He was injured Thursday at a public sledding hill in Sestriere in an non-Olympic event that was being filmed by an NBC affiliate. There were four other Olympians — skeleton racers Katie Uhlaender and Eric Bernotas, plus lugers Christian Niccum and Erin Hamlin — in the event, which was supposed to be light-hearted fun.

Ellis reportedly went over a large ramp set up at the end of the course and landed awkwardly.

The 32-year-old accountant from Dallas was 17th in the men’s skeleton competition at the season-ending Turin Games.

He was ranked a career-best fourth in this season’s World Cup standings, and Ellis — a two-time All-American college hurdler who began competing in skeleton in 2002 — had indicated that he’s considering making a bid for a spot on the 2010 Olympic roster.