Diego Maradona has had successful surgery for possible bleeding on his brain less than a week after his 60th birthday.
Key points:
- Argentina’s Diego Maradona is one of the greatest — and most controversial — footballers of all time
- Concerns over possible bleeding on the brain meant he had to undergo surgery
- Maradona’s personal doctor said he was able to “evacuate the hematoma successfully”
Maradona’s personal doctor Leopoldo Luque said the Argentine football hero had a subdural hematoma, which is an accumulation of blood between a membrane and his brain.
“I was able to evacuate the hematoma successfully and Diego tolerated the surgery very well,” Dr Luque said.
“The steps now are observation, but it is controlled. It will depend on how he does.
Dr Luque, a neurologist, said the procedure had taken around 80 minutes.
He said the problem was likely to have been caused by an accident, but Maradona does not remember such an event.
Maradona, who captained Argentina to its 1986 World Cup victory in Mexico, will rest in his room in a private clinic outside Buenos Aires for at least 48 hours.
He was admitted to the Ipensa clinic in La Plata earlier this week for anemia and dehydration, before being transferred to Olivos Clinic in Buenos Aires province.
Dr Luque said Maradona, whose “Hand of God” goal against England in 1986 is among the most controversial in World Cup history, had felt depressed for about a week and refused to eat before arriving at the clinic.
Maradona, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest players of all time, coaches local club Gimnasia y Esgrima.
He turned 60 last Friday and showed up that night for Gimnasia’s national championship match against Patronato, which his team won 3-0. He left before the end of the first half, raising questions about his health.
AP/Reuters
