Doctors say left-wing leader will remain under observation for a few days after surgery for intracranial haemorrhage.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is in “stable” condition after undergoing emergency surgery for an intracranial haemorrhage, his doctors have said.

Lula, 79, was rushed overnight on Tuesday to the Hospital Sirio-Libanes in Sao Paulo after experiencing headaches that the president’s medical team found were related to a fall he suffered in October.

“He is in a stable condition, talking normally and eating. He will remain under observation for the next few days,” Dr Roberto Kalil said during a news conference.

Presidential spokesperson Paulo Pimenta also said in a radio interview that Lula would likely remain in the intensive care unit for another 48 hours, with contact limited to his doctors.

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

Lula, who was sworn in as president in early 2023, has curtailed travel in recent months after he suffered trauma to the back of his head when he fell at home in late October.

The left-wing president hit his head after falling in a bathroom at the presidential residence in the capital Brasilia and received several stitches.

Lula described the incident as “serious” at the time, but said in a telephone call with an official from his Workers’ Party that was shared on social media that he was “fine”.

“I had an accident, but it was my fault. It was serious but it did not affect any sensitive area,” Lula said in the call.

After experiencing a headache on Monday, a medical examination in Brasilia found the intracranial haemorrhage. Lula was then transported to the hospital in Sao Paulo, about 1,000km (620 miles) south of the capital.

Surgeons performed a trepanation, drilling into the skull to relieve pressure.

“The bleeding was between the brain and the dura mater membrane”, a thick protective layer under the skull, and was located on the left side, above the frontal lobe and the parietal lobe, said Dr Marcos Stavale, a member of the medical team.

“The brain was decompressed and neurological functions were preserved,” he said.

There will be no after-effects, the doctors said, and Lula is expected to return to Brasilia at the beginning of next week.

In the meantime, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin will return to the capital Brasilia, his aide said, where he will assume Lula’s agenda, including a visit from Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.