Luque said doctors want Maradona, 60, to stay another day and recover from Monday’s operation on a subdural haematoma, a blood clot on the brain.

However, the former Barcelona, Napoli and Boca Juniors player could still leave the clinic and head home later on Thursday.

“He can walk, he is speaking to me, he is much more lucid,” Luque said, less than a week after Maradona looked weak and ponderous before a match in Buenos Aires.

Maradona, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986 and is considered one of the greatest players of all time, has suffered frequent periods in hospital over the years, often due to his extravagant lifestyle.