MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Former Massachusetts Gov. Edward J. King has been released from the hospital 24 days after a fall in his Florida home that prompted emergency brain surgery, according to a family statement.

King, 81, a conservative Democrat who defeated Michael S. Dukakis in the Democratic primary for governor in 1978, and then lost a rematch four years later, fell in his Surfside home last month. He had surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center to relieve pressure from blood pooling near his brain.

“With the medical situation behind him, the specialists call for a 100 percent recovery after a few more weeks rehabilitation,” King’s family said. They added that the family would like to, “thank everyone for the kind prayers and thoughts.”

King, a Chelsea, Mass. native and longtime resident of Winthrop, Mass., played football for both the Baltimore Colts and Buffalo Bills and is in the Boston College athletic hall of fame for football and baseball.

AP-ES-03-05-06 1718EST