On Tuesday, Argentina soccer legend Diego Maradona underwent successful emergency brain surgery in his home country to treat a subdural hematoma, ESPN Argentina reports. He is currently in recovery, according to his doctors.
Leopoldo Luque, Maradona's neurosurgeon and personal physician, spoke to reporters outside the clinic in Buenos Aires to give an update on Maradona's condition.
"I was able to evacuate the hematoma successfully and Diego tolerated the surgery very well," Luque said.
The neurosurgeon continued, saying, "Diego is under control. He has a small drain [to remove fluid] that we are planning to take out tomorrow. His stay at the hospital will depend on his evolution. But the start of his recovery was great. The way he reacted after the surgery is promising."
The 1986 World Cup legend, who just turned 60 on Oct. 30, was hospitalized in La Plata on Monday with anemia, dehydration and depression. An MRI taken on Tuesday revealed the brain issue.
Maradona, who coaches first division side Gimnasia de La Plata, had his surgery at Clinica Olivos in the capital.
"We did an MRI one month ago and everything was normal," Luque told ESPN previously. "We repeated the study, and we saw the subdural hematoma. These types of injuries are tough to spot. I don't know it he suffered some kind of hit or fall.
"This is a routine surgery that even [Argentina's] vice president [Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner] has undergone. The panorama has not changed. He continues to have the same clinical diagnosis, but now we have a more concrete diagnosis."
The doctor added that Maradona was alert ahead of surgery.
