BUENOS AIRES: Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona is in recovery after a "successful" surgery to treat a subdural hematoma, a blood clot on the brain, a source close to the former World Cup winner said late on Tuesday.
The operation, after Maradona, 60, was admitted to hospital a day earlier, was to address the clot, often caused by a head injury, and which can put pressure on the brain.
"The operation proceeded normally and without complications and was successful," the source told Reuters, adding that the diagnosis was a chronic subdural hematoma. The person did not give details on the potential recovery period. The intervention, which was risky due to the ex-footballer's delicate general health, lasted about two hours and was carried out by a team led by Leopoldo Luque, Maradona's neurosurgeon and personal physician.
Luque said earlier that the procedure was a "routine surgery" and that Maradona had been "lucid" and understood and agreed with the procedure.
Maradona was admitted to the Ipensa clinic in La Plata, Argentina, on Monday for anemia and dehydration, before being transferred to Olivos Clinic in Buenos Aires province.
Around 50 fans gathered in front of the Olivos Clinic, in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, celebrated when reports of the successful outcome started to emerge, chanting: "Diego, Diego!" (Agencies).