SAO PAULO (Reuters)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was rushed to Sao Paulo overnight for emergency surgery to drain a bleed on his brain linked to a fall in October and he will remain in hospital for a couple more days, the government said on Tuesday.

The 79-year-old Lula is “well” and being monitored in the intensive care unit after the successful operation, a medical note published by the government said. Doctors will hold a press conference at 9 a.m. local time (1200 GMT) to provide details.

Presidential spokesperson Paulo Pimenta said in a radio interview that Lula would likely remain in the ICU for another 48 hours, with contact limited to his medical team.

“He is stable, conscious and calm,” Pimenta said.

There have been increasing health concerns about the ageing president, a standard bearer of the Latin American left who is halfway through his third non-consecutive term. Weak results for his Workers Party in this year’s municipal elections underscored the lack of a clear leftist successor if he chooses not to run for re-election in 2026.

Lula has curtailed travel in recent months while doctors monitored his recovery from trauma to the back of his head when he fell at home in late October, requiring stitches.

During talks with congressional leaders on Monday evening, Lula complained of a worsening headache and ended the meeting so he could go to a hospital in Brasilia, according to a presidential aide who spoke on condition of anonymity.

An MRI scan detected an intracranial haemorrhage, and Lula was transferred to Sao Paulo for surgery at the Sirio Libanes Hospital.

As anaesthesia wore off early on Tuesday, Lula woke up and then went back to sleep, according to the presidential aide.

Vice President Geraldo Alckmin cancelled plans in Sao Paulo on Tuesday to return to the capital Brasilia, his aide said, where he will assume Lula’s agenda, including a visit from Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Pimenta said Lula may not need to formally transfer the powers of the president to Alckmin.

Tests in early November showed Lula’s condition was stable and he remained active, recently traveling to Montevideo to discuss a Mercosur trade deal.

The president’s injury had forced him to cancel a trip to Russia for a summit of the BRICS group of major emerging markets being held in Kazan, following medical advice to temporarily avoid long-haul flights.