Brazil's Bolsonaro in hospital with abdominal problems, three years after stabbing

He says he has not fully recovered after 2018 attack

President Jair Bolsonaro was taken ill after Sunday lunch. AP Photo

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to hospital with abdominal problems, more than three years after he was stabbed.

He tweeted a picture of himself in hospital on Monday, with what he said was a nasogastric tube fitted to his nose.

The president said he had been taken ill after Sunday lunch and claimed he was still experiencing abdominal problems after being stabbed in 2018. He suffered severe injuries from a knife wound while campaigning in Juiz de Fora, north of Rio de Janeiro, and has never fully recovered.

Nasogastric tubes help the body to ingest food when the digestive tract is not functioning.

The president's office said earlier that he had been suffering abdominal pain.

The Vila Nova Star hospital in Sao Paulo said he was admitted there in the early hours of Monday due to an intestinal obstruction.

“He is in stable condition, undergoing treatment and will be re-evaluated this morning by Doctor Antonio Luiz de Vasconcellos Macedo's team. At the moment, there is no forecast for him being discharged,” it said.

TV network Globo showed images of Mr Bolsonaro walking down the stairs of the presidential plane after landing in Sao Paulo at about 1.30am local time. He was then taken to the Vila Nova Star hospital, Globo said.

Mr Bolsonaro has been admitted to hospital several times since he was stabbed during his presidential campaign in 2018. In July 2021, he was taken to Vila Nova Star because of an intestinal blockage after suffering from chronic hiccups.

Mr Bolsonaro had been on holiday in the southern state of Santa Catarina.

Aside from the gastric issues, Mr Bolsonaro caught Covid-19 in 2020.