Swollen and bruised Marvel star Jeremy Renner has spoken for the first time since a freak snow-plough accident that required emergency surgery.

The 51-year-old actor, best known for playing Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was reportedly flown to hospital after police were called to respond to “a traumatic injury” in Reno, Nevada.

On Wednesday (Australian time) Renner took to Instagram to thank his fans for their support and posted a photo of himself with hospital nasal tubes.

“Thank you all for your kind words. 🙏. I’m too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all,” he wrote.

Earlier, Renner’s publicist said the actor had undergone surgery for his injuries and remained in intensive care.

Extra reported later that Renner was conscious and speaking, but faced a long road to recovery.

“We can confirm that Jeremy has suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopaedic injuries and has undergone surgery today, January 2nd 2023,” Renner’s family told Extra.

“He has returned from surgery and remains in the intensive care unit in critical but stable condition.”

Renner was ploughing snow near his home on New Year’s morning after a record-setting storm the night before.

In a horrifying accident, the plough reportedly ran over one of his legs and injured other parts of his body.

TMZ reported a neighbour, who is a doctor, treated Renner’s heavily bleeding leg until paramedics arrived.

“Jeremy’s family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible doctors and nurses looking after him, Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue, Washoe County Sheriff, Reno City mayor, Hillary Schieve, and the Carano and Murdock families,” Renner’s publicist said.

“They are also tremendously overwhelmed and appreciative of the outpouring of love and support from his fans.”

Renner has previously updated fans with snow pictures and videos on his Instagram, including one filmed in 2021 which appears to show him clearing snow with a machine.

“I have so much respect for Mother Earth, and Mother Nature … I expect to lose the fight but I’ll always give it my best shot #tahoelife life #snowthrower,” he wrote at the time.

Outpouring of support for Renner

News of Renner’s critical conditional following his accident prompted an posts of support from fans and colleagues on social media, including Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.

Tweet from @MuseZack

Not Renner’s first rodeo

This is not the first time Renner has suffered a serious injury; in 2017, he broke both his arms while performing a stunt for the comedy film, Tag.

Despite being in pain, Renner returned to work and completed filming, although CGI animation was used where he sometimes would have needed his arms.

“I couldn’t rotate my hands but I could move my arms up and down kind of like a robot, but I would do anything that didn’t hurt essentially,” he told Entertainment Weekly 

Immediately after wrapping Tag, Renner went to work on Avengers films as the bow and arrow-wielding Hawkeye.

“It’s sort of like a battle of my will to heal as fast as I possibly could. I did therapy just painfully every day and I was able to get through it all as best as I could,” he said.

Upcoming projects

Although he has proven his ability to work through the pain in the past, Renner’s exact condition following his recent accident is unknown.

But it is expected to be some time before he recovers enough to return to work.

The two-time Oscar nominee has no confirmed filming commitments.

But he does have a Disney+ original show, Rennervations, which is to be released in coming months.

The show, which appears to have already been filmed, will reportedly follow Renner as he travels the world to help people and communities by fix homes and vehicles.

“Behind the big screen, Jeremy is a construction aficionado,” Disney said in a release.

“He is heavily invested in the highly creative fabricator culture that exists across the globe and hopes to change lives with these skills and inspire others to do the same.”