Report: Diego Maradona to Have Emergency Brain Surgery

Argentina soccer legend Diego Maradona will have emergency surgery on Tuesday night for a subdural hematoma in his brain, according to TyC Sports and ESPN. 

Maradona was first hospitalized on Monday at La Plata Hospital with anemia, dehydration and depression. The Gimnasia manager will be transferred to Clinica Olivos for the brain surgery. 

The procedure to treat the subdural hematoma, a pooling of blood between the brain and its outermost covering, will reportedly be completed by Maradona's personal doctor, Leopoldo Luque. 

"We did an MRI one month ago and everything was normal," Luque said, per ESPN. "We repeated the study, and we saw the subdural hematoma. These types of injuries are tough to spot. I don't know if he suffered some kind of hit or fall."

Luque added that the surgery is "routine" and that Maradona's diagnosis is now more concrete. Argentina vice president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has previously undergone the same procedure, according to Luque. 

"He is alert, he understands and he is in agreement about the surgery," Luque said of Maradona. "He is not upset."

Maradona recently celebrated his 60th birthday on Oct. 30. He wished to score another goal against England for his birthday, a reflection on his "Hand of God" goal in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal.

Maradona was at Gimnasia's match against Patronato on Friday before leaving at kickoff. Gimnasia went on to win the match, 3-0.

Widely regarded as one of the best soccer players of all time, Maradona captained the Argentinian national team during its 1986 World Cup triumph.