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.
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.
"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.
The former Santos and New York Cosmos superstar celebrated his birthday two weeks ago and posted about his foundation to his millions of fans on Tuesday.
Sharing a classic photo of himself with Germany legend and fellow World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer, he wrote: "One of the greatest players I've ever seen play and that life has given me the opportunity to call a friend. Going through the photos, I found this one."
Pele had prostate surgery in 2015 and was seen in a wheelchair when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 2018 World Cup draw.
He was also admitted to hospital over a urinary infection in 2019.