Sylvester Stallone injures neck in fight scenes

It is not the first time Stallone has been injured during filming

Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone has revealed how he broke his neck while shooting fight scenes for his new movie The Expendables.

The 63-year-old said a fight scene with wrestling star Stone Cold Steve Austin became so "vicious" that he needed surgery for an injury he incurred.

Speaking to FHM Magazine, he said: "I haven't told anyone this, but I had to have a very serious operation."

The star said he had to have a metal plate inserted into his neck.

"Man, it was seven guys, kicking each other's ass, one guy tougher than the next," he said.

"No joke, our stunt guys were begging for mercy."

'Heart swell'

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke and British actor Jason Statham also star in the movie about a team of mercenaries who embark on a mission to overthrow a dictator.

The film also features actress Brittany Murphy, who died last month after collapsing at home.

It is not the first time Stallone has been seriously injured during fight scenes.

At one point, he hit me so hard on the top of the head I felt my spine compress, he then hit me with an almighty uppercut Sylvester Stallone referring to a different fight in another film

He said Dolph Lundgren hurt him when they were shooting Rocky IV.

"I gave him orders to try to knock me out while the cameras were rolling," Stallone said.

"At one point, he hit me so hard on the top of the head I felt my spine compress, he then hit me with an almighty uppercut.

"That night my chest and heart started to swell, and I had to be helicopter-ambulanced from my hotel to a nearby emergency room.

"I was told that Dolph had punched my rib cage into my chest, compressing my heart.

"If it had swollen any more, I would have died. After that, I was like, 'Dolph, it's only a movie, bro'."

The Expendables, which was also written and directed by Stallone, is scheduled to be released in the US in August.