State Rep. Doug Yongue is in the hospital recovering after surgery for a bone fracture.

Yongue, a Laurinburg Democrat whose district includes Scotland, Robeson and Hoke counties, fell and fractured his right femur Thursday while he and his wife, Millie, were walking their dog in a park near his home in Laurinburg.

Surgeons at Scotland Memorial Hospital on Friday reconstructed the bone by placing three screws in the neck of the femur near the hip joint, according to Katie Stanley, Yongue’s legislative assistant.

“The surgery, by all accounts, was a success,” she said.

Stanley said that Yongue began an intensive two-week rehabilitation program on Tuesday at Scotland Memorial Hospital. The first week of rehabilitation will be in the hospital, with the second week of treatment being administered on an outpatient basis, she said.

Stanley said it is not known how soon Yongue, one of the chief Democratic budget negotiators, will return to Raleigh. Yongue is a member of the joint House and Senate Conference Committee that is currently working to resolve differences between state budgets proposed by the House and Senate.

According to Stanley, provisions have been made for Yongue to listen-in and participate in budget negotiations while he is recovering at his home.