Sporting icon Pele has returned to hospital less than three months after being treated in intensive care for a colon tumor, doctors in Brazil have announced.
The Brazil legend, who is one of the greatest players of all time, spent 30 days in Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein Hospital to remove the tumor in September.
Pele, 81, reassured fans that he had “a lot of disposition to play 90 minutes plus extra time” following that scare.
The all-time great has now returned to the hospital to continue treatment on the tumor, according to a statement issued by four medics at the facility on Wednesday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="pt" dir="ltr">O Hospital Albert Einstein, em São Paulo, confirma que Pelé está internado na unidade para dar sequência ao tratamento de um tumor no cólon. O câncer foi identificado em setembro deste ano, quando o ex-jogador passou 30 dias internado. <a href="https://t.co/GAY3GNcDZ5">pic.twitter.com/GAY3GNcDZ5</a></p>— Rádio BandNews FM (@radiobandnewsfm) <a href="https://twitter.com/radiobandnewsfm/status/1468581347975380993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
According to the medical bulletin, the revered former striker is in a stable condition and is expected to be discharged within days.
The three-time World Cup winner’s daughter, Kely Nascimento, kept fans updated when Pele was last admitted to hospital.
Nascimento’s messages included a social media video of Pele pedaling on a bike in hospital as part of his recovery.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Brazilian soccer legend Pele hospitalized to undergo treatment for a colon tumor. Sao Paulo's Hospital Albert Einstein says he is in stable condition and should be discharged in the next few days</p>— Bruce Amani (@AmaniBruce) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmaniBruce/status/1468586398420717578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
“Today was two steps forward,” she said at the time as part of a series of upbeat posts about Brazil’s all-time top scorer.
Neither Pele nor his daughter had posted a public update on his health when the hospital made the announcement.