Buenos Aires - Argentina coach Diego Maradona has been hospitalised after one of his dogs bit him while he was playing with the animal at home, TV reports said on Tuesday.
One report said that the 49-year-old former footballing great had been bitten on his upper lip and would need a minor operation to repair the wound.
Sources at the Los Arcos private clinic, where Maradona spent several weeks in 2007 for treatment after developing serious health problems, confirmed that he had been admitted, but would not say what the problem was.
After retiring from the game in 1997 when he was 37, Maradona has had several health problems related to his weight and drug and alcohol addictions.
But he was made Argentina head coach in November 2008 and, despite a poor start to his tenure, succeeded in qualifying his country for the World Cup in South Africa.