Portugal's Eurovision winner Salvador Sobral has heart transplant Published duration 9 December 2017 Related Topics Eurovision Song Contest

image copyright Reuters image caption Salvador Sobral missed a week of Eurovision rehearsals due to his heart condition

Portugal's celebrated Eurovision Song Contest winner, Salvador Sobral, is recovering in hospital after undergoing a heart transplant.

Surgeons at the Santa Cruz Hospital in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, said the 27-year-old was "doing well".

It was the first time Portugal had taken the title.

"He was very well prepared. He is a young man who understood the difficulties of this type of procedure."

Mr Abecasis said that before Friday's operation the singer had wished him "good luck".

The recovery would take a long time, Mr Abecasis added, but said that if all went well, Sobral would have "a completely normal life".

The singer had to wait several months until a suitable donor was found, Publico reported. He announced in September that he was taking a break from performing.

Sobral's winning ballad, written by his older sister, Luisa, made him a national hero in Portugal.