Why Obama couldn't even smile when his Christmas tree was delivered!

London, Nov 27 (ANI): US President Barack Obama finally had his Christmas tree delivered to his doorstep today, but he was reluctant to smile about it.

The President was injured in a basketball match, which left him with 12 stitches in his lip.

So when the large Douglas fir pulled up in a horse-drawn carriage on the north side of the White House, the best Obama could do was watch from a second-storey window as his wife and two daughters took delivery.

Obama was injured earlier in the day while playing basketball with family and friends at the Fort McNair Army base in Washington.

The White House administration released a statement, which identified Rey Decerega, the director of programs for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, as the person who went up for a shot and elbowed Obama, who was playing defense.

Obama later emerged from the gymnasium after about 90 minutes dabbing at his mouth and was rushed back to the doctor's office on the ground floor of the White House to get stitches under local anaesthetic.

The president's press secretary Robert Gibbs said the medical unit that treated the president used a smaller filament than is usual which increases the number of stitches but makes a tighter stitch and results in a smaller scar.

The president is a keen sports fan and an ardent amateur basketball player. He even played a game with aides and friends on Election Day in 2008 as he waited to hear whether he had won the presidency. (ANI)