BRAZIL soccer legend Pele, 80, is in a “stable” condition after “respiratory instability” led to him being admitted to an intensive care unit, Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein hospital said in a statement.
Concerns grew about Pele’s health after local media reported that he had returned to an ICU that he had only just left earlier this week as he recovers from a colon tumour removal.
The hospital said Pele “presented a brief respiratory instability” and was admitted to an ICU as a “preventive measure.” After he was stabilized, it said he had been moved to “semi-intensive care” and was now “stable from a cardiovascular and respiratory point of view.”
Seeking to assuage people’s fears about the health of a soccer legend whom many consider being the greatest player in history, Pele’s daughter, Kely Nascimento, said on Instagram that he was “recovering well … I promise!”
She added: “The normal recovery scenario for a man of his age after an operation like this is sometimes two steps forward and one step back.”
She also posted a photo that she said “was taken just now” of the three-time World Cup winner wearing a black vest and smiling for the camera.
Pele has suffered from hip problems for years and cannot walk unaided. His public appearances were already being cut before the COVID-19 pandemic and since then he has made few unnecessary forays outside his house near Santos.
