Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday he was returning home confident he was healthy and could return to work normally, after being discharged after nearly a week in hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to drain a cranial hematoma.

“I need to be quiet for at least 60 days or so. But I can return to normal work. I will stay at home until Thursday in Sao Paulo,” said Lula, who made a surprise appearance at a press conference organized by his medical team at the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital in Sao Paulo.

Shortly before the president appeared at a news conference wearing a hat covering his headband, a team of doctors led by doctors Roberto Calil Filho and Ana Helena Guermoglio announced that the president had been released from the hospital.

Lula has recovered well and can resume normal work activities, but must avoid long-distance flights, doctors emphasized.

“You can carry out normal activities from the point of view of your position (…) whatever you want,” emphasized Kalil Folho, adding that this should be carried out “within the protocol of a patient who has obviously suffered a cerebral infarction.”

He is also expected to undergo a CT scan on Thursday before returning to the capital Brasilia.

Lula, 79, underwent emergency surgery early Tuesday to remove a hematoma on his skull caused by a domestic accident in October when he fell in the Alvorada Palace bathroom and hit his head.