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CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS/AP) ― After a surgery Monday, doctors said they did not expect to operate again on the thigh bone Gov. Jon S. Corzine broke in two places in a car crash Thursday.

That means doctors can focus on another aspect of what's expected to be a long recovery: helping him be able to breathe without the help of the ventilator he has been using since he was rushed to the hospital after the crash on the Garden State Parkway.

Corzine remained in critical but stable condition Monday, and doctors said his recovery is going well so far.

"He continues to do, thankfully, far better than one would expect anyone with these injuries to do," said Dr. Steven Ross, the head of the trauma unit at Cooper.

Corzine, a fit 60-year-old former Marine and investment banker, broke his leg, about a dozen ribs, his collarbone and sternum when the sport utility vehicle he was riding in crashed in Galloway Township, just north of Atlantic City. The SUV, driven by a state trooper, was hit by another vehicle that swerved to avoid a pickup truck, sending the governor's vehicle into a guard rail.

State Police Col. Rick Fuentes said Monday that the vehicle's speed and other details of the crash would not be released until the investigation was complete.

Corzine, who apparently was not wearing a seat belt, had been on his way to a meeting at the governor's mansion in Princeton with radio show host Don Imus and the members of the Rutgers women's basketball team.

Two troopers in a vehicle following Corzine's administered first aid before he was put on a helicopter for the 50-mile flight to Cooper, the nearest high-level trauma center.

Doctors said that when he arrived, Corzine was able to speak about the accident.

Because of pain medication and heavy sedation, he has not been able to speak since. He has taken all nourishment through a feeding tube.

Ross said Corzine's ability to speak just after the accident and a CT scan he underwent Thursday gave indications that his brain function was not affected. He said it was luck that the governor did not suffer injuries to any internal organs.

His left leg, however, was injured severely. It snapped in two spots and protruded through the skin.

During about two hours of surgery on Thursday night, doctors inserted a metal rod into the bone, where the marrow would normally be. On Saturday and again Monday, Dr. Robert Ostrum reopened the leg wound to clean out dead tissue and wash the area as a precaution to prevent infection.

Infection is also a risk in Corzine's chest, the doctors said. On Sunday and again Monday, doctors inserted tubes into his chest to drain fluid from his lungs. They said that is a minor and routine procedure.

A plastic surgeon also stitched closed a flap of skin that opened on Corzine's forehead.

An additional injury -- a minor fracture of a vertebrae in Corzine's lower back -- required no special treatment, doctors said.

With Monday's surgery over, doctors said they would reduce the amount of sedation and give Corzine some control over the amount of pain medication he receives.

As for his legs, Ostrum said the initial steps would be trying to get Corzine to sit up in bed, then in a chair.

He won't be able to use regular crutches, Ostrum said, because his ribs were broken. When Corzine is able to walk, it will likely be only with the help of a cane or walker for six months or so, Ostrum said.

There were some signs of hope Monday.

In a moment when doctors reduced the amount of sedation, Corzine was able to move both arms and both legs on his own.

And, Ross said, Corzine had the highest score possible for someone using a breathing tube on a test of cognitive function.

The governor's chief of staff previously said he hoped Corzine might be able to run the government -- even if it was from a hospital bed -- in a week or so. By Monday, if those hopes still existed, they were not being spoken.

Corzine spokesman Anthony Coley said they would leave that to doctors. But the doctors have not put a timeline on when his pain might be reduced enough and his breathing strong enough for him to resume his official duties.

In the meantime, Senate President Richard J. Cody is acting governor.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)