Golf:Seve Ballesteros is "already 90 per cent" recovered from surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumour, he said in a radio interview last night.

The Spanish five-time major winner had four operations to remove the tumour following his collapse at Madrid airport in October and has been recuperating at his home in northern Spain while he undergoes chemotherapy.

He appeared in public for the first time since the surgery on Sunday when he watched local soccer team Racing Santander lose 2-0 at home to Almeria and was given a standing ovation.

He said in an interview with Spanish radio last night he had "already recovered 90 per cent" and had started playing some golf again.

"Now I am perfect, I can do any kind of sport, running, swimming, rowing and I am also hitting some short golf shots," he told Cadena Ser's late-night "El Larguero" show.

"I suffered like a dog but the fact that I was a professional sportsman and used to competing and fighting helped me," he added.

The 52-year-old said in a message posted on his website (www.seveballesteros.com) he was about to begin a fifth round of chemotherapy.

"The results of my last tests at La Paz Hospital in Madrid showed I was on the right path," he added. "I will go on working to get better each day."