"It will take several more days for us to know definitively which way it is going," Kalinak told reporters outside the Banska Bystrica hospital.

Kalinak said it was too early to say whether Fico would recover from the attack due to "the extent of the injuries caused by four gunshot wounds".

The gunman shot Fico, 59, five times, initially leaving the prime minister in critical condition and undergoing surgery hours later on Wednesday evening.