World leaders including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as well as Pope Benedict XVI sent condolences on Monday to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who was attacked Sunday at a rally in Milan.

The 73-year-old prime minister was examined and treated at the emergency room at the San Raffaele Hospital, where a hospital spokesman said he had two teeth knocked out, a small fracture to his nose, cuts on the inside and outside of his upper lip and bruises to his face.

From a clinical point of view, everything's fine, but there's a need for an observation period of one or two days, said Dr Alberto Zangrillo, head of the emergency room at the San Raffaele Hospital here.

Berlusconi would probably not require any operation, he added.

I'm fine, I'm fine, the popular but divisive prime minister was quoted as saying by ANSA as he left the emergency room.

He later told an Italian television presenter visiting him that he considered it miraculous not to have lost an eye in the attack, the ANSA news agency said.

Police arrested a 42-year-old man, named as Massimo Tartaglia, over the attack, charging him with aggravated assault.

He faces up to five-and-a-half months in prison if convicted of injuring Mr Berlusconi.

Tartaglia has a 10-year history of mental problems, according to Italian media.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said he strongly condemned the attack.

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