British business secretary Peter Mandelson will return to work next week after surgery to remove excess prostate tissue yesterday, his spokesman said.
The spokesman said the routine operation went well and Mandelson was in “excellent general health”.
[He is] “ due out of hospital tomorrow and back in the office early next week,” the spokesman said.
Mr Mandelson (55) returned to the British government last year after four years as European Union trade commissioner.
He is one of the most influential figures in the government and deputised for British prime minister Gordon Brown earlier this month when Mr Brown was on holiday.
Mr Mandelson is expected to play a central role in Labour’s strategy for a general election due by next June.
Opinion polls suggest the party that has governed Britain since 1997 faces a tough task to beat a resurgent opposition Conservative party.
Enlargement of the prostate is relatively common in men over the age of 50. Surgery normally involves removal of part of the prostate through the urethra, but hospitals sometimes carry out microwave heat treatment as an alternative.