[ad_1]
Abdelmadjid Tebboune says he could undergo minor surgery for a foot complication following COVID infection.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune returned to Germany to be treated in hospital for foot complications resulting from a coronavirus infection, according to the presidency.
The treatment “was not medically urgent” and should have taken place during Tebboune’s last stay in Germany, the presidency said in a statement on Sunday.
Tebboune then postponed the treatment due to certain obligations that prompted him to return home on December 29, he said.
Tebboune, 75 and a heavy smoker, was hospitalized in Germany on October 28, and Algerian authorities later announced he had COVID-19.
The name of the clinic treating him in Germany was never announced and he spoke to the nation only shortly before his return in December after about two months of absence.
Speaking to state television on Sunday, Tebboune said he could have foot surgery while under treatment.
“There may be a little surgery. My return to Germany was previously planned. The period of my absence from the country will be short, God willing, ”he said.
“I will follow the problems of the state with the officials on a daily basis.”
He was elected president in December, months after former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was ousted from power in April 2019 by pro-democracy protesters and the army chief after 20 years at the helm.
Tebboune was elected in a largely boycotted vote, with an official turnout of less than 40%.
Rallies demanding sweeping political reforms were only suspended when the coronavirus pandemic struck.
Tebboune’s initial convalescence in Germany reminded many Algerians of the frequent hospitalizations of octogenarian Bouteflika abroad.
When he returned home in December, Tebboune appeared to have gained weight and appeared in good health.
He had suggested he had almost recovered, but was seen wearing a splint on his right foot.
[ad_2]