Vatican City - The second part of Pope Benedict XVI's bestselling 2007 book, Jesus of Nazareth, is likely to be published "early," in 2010, the Vatican's chief spokesman said Wednesday.

Father Federico Lombardi said Benedict is currently working on the last chapter of the book which is expected to cover Jesus' death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection.

Initial plans for the book to be completed during the summer received a setback when the 82-year-old, German-born pontiff, fell and broke his right wrist in July during his holiday in the Italian Alps.

"The Holy Father has been working intensively on the book during August and September and if everything goes according to plan, it is possible that the book will be published early next year," Lombardi told the German Press Agency dpa.

Benedict, who is right-handed, was initially forced to dictate text into a audio recorder while his wrist remained in a cast until late August.

A precise publication date for the book will be announced only once the text has been edited and translated from the German into other languages, Lombardi said.