Former Formula One driver and Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi has undergone another brain operation, the Milan hospital treating him said on Monday.

The 53-year-old Italian “underwent a delicate neurosurgical procedure […] for the treatment of some late-onset complications from the original head injury,” the San Raffaele hospital said in a statement.

The surgery was successful and Zanardi’s condition appears stable, the hospital said, adding that the patient remained under intensive care.

The surgery took place on Saturday, a day after Zanardi was taken in an ambulance to the San Raffaele from a rehab clinic due to an unforeseen deterioration in his condition.

He had arrived at the rehab clinic a few days earlier, with some hope for a recovery as he his parameters had stabilised after more than a month in intensive care at another hospital in Siena.

Zanardi suffered major brain and skull injuries in a June 19 crash during a handbike relay event in Tuscany.

In Siena, he was operated on three times and kept in an induced coma until two weeks ago.

Zanardi is an inspirational figure in the worlds of motorsport and paralympic endeavour, a hugely popular and positive competitor who returned from life-changing injuries with a smile.

He had both legs amputated above the knee, with his heart stopping seven times as he lost all but a litre of the blood in his body, after a horrific crash at the Lausitzring in Germany on September 15, 2001.