Diego Maradona: Argentine football legend surgery for blood clot on brain successful

Diego Maradona has undergone successful brain surgery, according to the Argentina legend’s doctor.

Maradona, 60, was initially admitted to the Ipensa Clinic in La Plata, Argentina on Monday, suffering from anaemia and dehydration. His  doctor had confirmed that the retired footballer would undergo surgery for a subdural hematoma in Buenos Aires.

• Argentine football legend Diego Maradona admitted to hospital

The operation was scheduled to begin around 8 pm local time to address the condition, often caused by a head injury, that can put pressure on the brain.

Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s personal physician, says the procedure was a “routine surgery.

“I was able to evacuate the hematoma successfully and Diego tolerated the surgery very well,” said Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s neurosurgeon and personal physician.

“The steps now are observation, but it is controlled. It will depend on how he does. It is not highly complex, but it is still brain surgery.”

The hematoma was likely to have been caused by an accident, Luque added, although Maradona has said he does not remember the event.

Maradona won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

He currently manages local club Gimnasia y Esgrima and a host of the club’s fans have converged on the hospital since Monday evening, waving flags and holding posters with messages of support as they waited for news of Maradona’s health.

“What we want the most is for Diego to get out of all this. He can, he is the greatest, the greatest in the world,” a Maradona fan waiting outside the hospital says.