Maradona stable after surgery

2005-03-07 11:40

Bogota - Diego Maradona was in good spirits on Sunday at a clinic in Colombia, one day after undergoing gastric-bypass surgery that aims to trim his weight by 50kg within a year, his doctors said.

"He woke up stable, the readings are normal, he has a positive attitude... and he's having a great day," Dr Francisco Holguin told reporters on Sunday.

Holguin is one of four doctors who took part in the operation, also known as stomach stapling, at a clinic in Colombia's coastal city of Cartagena.

Since quitting professional soccer in 1997, the 44-year-old Maradona has become severely obese as he struggled to overcome cocaine addiction at a centre in Cuba.

Holguin said the 1.68m Maradona weighed 121kg when the surgery began on Saturday and that he could lose about 200gm a day until he reaches a weight of 70-75kg.

"Diego in one year will reach his ideal weight. He'll look like he's ready to play in (next year's) World Cup in Germany," Holguin said with a smile.

But he said the former Argentine soccer hero must change his eating habits and exercise more and said weight loss is not assured.

"Guarantees are for auto repair shops. In medicine there are no such guarantees," Holguin said.

Doctor Angelica Quintero, who also took part in the surgery, said Maradona will spend about two weeks recovering at the Medihelp Services clinic in Cartagena.

In 2000, Fifa chose Maradona and Pele as the sport's greatest players. In his 20-year career, Maradona led Argentina to the World Cup title in 1986 and the final in 1990.

- AP