Diego Maradona.
Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona will undergo emergency surgery to remove a blood clot on the brain, his doctor said. The operation was expected to begin on Tuesday night after the 60-year-old was diagnosed with a subdural haematoma, a pool of blood between a membrane and his brain, Xinhua news agency reported.
Maradona's personal physician, Leopoldo Luque, described the procedure at the Olivos clinic on the northern outskirts of Buenos Aires as "routine surgery".
"We are going to operate today. He is lucid, he understands, he agrees with the intervention," Luque said.
Maradona was admitted to the Ipensa clinic in La Plata, south of Buenos Aires, on Monday with what was initially thought to be dehydration and anaemia. He was transferred to the Olivos clinic on Tuesday afternoon.
Universally recognised as one of the best footballers ever, Maradona has suffered a long list of health problems since ending his playing career in 1997. In 2004, the 1986 World Cup winner was hospitalised with severe heart and respiratory problems related to a long battle with drug addiction.
He has also undergone two gastric bypass operations to control his weight and received treatment for alcohol abuse. In 2019, Maradona had surgery to stop bleeding in his stomach and also underwent a knee operation.
