SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said Wednesday he won't be voting in Congress over the next three to four weeks because he needs immediate foot surgery and recovery time in Utah.

Chaffetz made the announcement in a Wednesday evening Instagram post that included an X-ray showcasing the hardware embedded in the bones of his foot.

About 12 years ago, he shattered several bones, requiring 14 screws and a metal plate, he wrote, after falling from a ladder while he was repairing something in his garage.

"I’m sorry to miss the important work we are doing in Washington," Chaffetz wrote in the post.

The importance of that work becomes more urgent this week as the government could shut down if Congress cannot agree on a budget by midnight Friday.

"This is not an opportune time to be away but medical emergencies are never convenient," Chaffetz wrote in his post. He did not address the potential shutdown or stalled negotiations over Trump's proposed border wall and health care reform.

Attempts to speak with Chaffetz went unanswered Wednesday night.

Chaffetz said his doctors at the University of Utah recommended he undergo surgery right away to remove the screws or risk getting a serious infection. His post did not say when exactly the surgery would happen.

His recovery, he said, is expected to take three to four weeks.

Chaffetz last week said he would not run for re-election in the U.S. House of Representatives in order to return to the private sector, and may leave office sooner. He said he was tired of spending so much time away from his family.

"I am healthy," Chaffetz, 50, wrote in the April 19 Facebook post announcing his departure from Congress.

In February, Chaffetz, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman, was booed and heckled at a town hall in Brighton High School as he attempted to respond to audience questions ranging from the future of Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah, which he has criticized, to Planned Parenthood, to his decision not to investigate Donald Trump's business ties.

"Do your job!" audience members said, ordering him to investigate the president.

A Democratic challenger in his district also has begun fundraising and donations have poured in from out of state.

But Chaffetz said last week he was confident that he would be re-elected by large margins if he were to run again in the district where he won over 70 percent of the vote in fall.

Chaffetz was elected in 2008 to represent Utah's 3rd Congressional District.