AOSTA, ITALY - Pope Benedict XVI's operation for a fractured wrist on Friday "went well," the president of the Val d'Aosta region said in televised remarks.

"Everything went well" in the operation performed with a local anaesthetic in the hospital in Aosta, northern Italy, where the pope is on holiday, said Augusto Rollandin.

Benedict "should be able to leave the hospital by late afternoon," hospital spokesman Tiziano Trevisan told AFP.

The 82-year-old pontiff fell during the night at a chalet where he is staying in the mountain resort of Val d'Aosta, the Vatican said in a communique.

Benedict has had no notable health problems since his election in April 2005 following the death of John Paul II.