Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday was set to spend a fourth night hospitalized, recovering from an assault on Sunday, after doctors decided to postpone his discharge by one more day, dpa reported.
The decision was motivated by the pain afflicting the premier "and hence a state of suffering which is not always controllable," as well as continued difficulties for Berlusconi to feed himself due to the injuries received to the mouth, his personal doctor, Alberto Zangrillo, said.
Zangrillo said Berlusconi would "certainly" be discharged by Thursday afternoon.
The announcement followed remarks by the premier's spokesman, Paolo Bonaiuti, that, on Tuesday, Berlusconi had endured his "most difficult" night since being admitted to Milan's San Raffaele hospital, suffering strong headaches.
The 73-year-old Berlusconi, sustained the injuries, including a broken nose and two broken teeth, on Sunday evening when, at a political rally in the northern city, he was hit in the face by a man wielding a replica statuette of the Milan Cathedral.
The premier's alleged assailant, 42-year-old Massimo Tartaglia, who has a history of psychological problems, was arrested shortly after the attack.
On Wednesday, a magistrate remanded into custody Tartaglia, turning down a request by the man's lawyers for his transfer for treatment to a psychiatric hospital.
Magistrate Cristina Di Censo ordered that Tartaglia be held in Milan's San Vittore prison pending further judicial proceedings, but said he must be placed under "constant" psychiatric observation.
Tartgaglia has written a letter to Berlusconi apologizing for striking him, an act he described as "cowardly."
Earlier police detained a man who apparently tried to reach Berlusconi in the San Rafaelle hospital in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The man was challenged when he entered the ward where the premier has been staying.
"I want to greet the president (Berlusconi)," said the man, who is described in news reports as a 26-year-old who in 2008 received treatment for psychological problems in a Turin hospital.