Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika checked into a Grenoble hospital on Thursday for medical check up, the Algerian presidency has clarified.

Reports from France today said the 77 year old leader boarded a plane today for the homeward journey.

Bouteflika, who suffered a stroke last year, was hospitalised in Grenoble in France on Thursday, French police and French government sources said on Friday.

A veteran of Algeria’s war against France which ended with independence in 1962, Bouteflika suffered a stroke in early 2013 and was rushed to a French hospital.

He has since returned to France several times for check-ups.Even after he was re-elected this year after a decade and a half in power, Bouteflika’s illness fueled speculation over transition in Algeria, a key energy supplier to Europe and a partner in Washington’s campaign against Islamist militants.