The health of three-time World Cup winner Pele has improved but doctors at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo are still unable to forecast when he can be discharged, according to a medical report shared on Monday.
The Brazilian football legend, 82, has been in ill health since September last year when he began a battle with colon cancer.
Pele has made regular hospital visits, but was admitted to Albert Einstein to evaluate his treatment in late November.
Popular daily newspaper Folha S. Paulo reported that Pele had been placed in end-of-life care, which his family later claimed was inaccurate.
Pele’s daughters explained to Brazilian media that their father contracted Covid and was being treated for a respiratory infection, which the most recent report addressed.
“The patient continues to show improvement in the clinical status, in particular the respiratory infection,” said the update from the hospital.
“He remains in a regular room, is conscious and with stable vital signs.”
Pele’s poor health was of concern to football fans and the Brazilian national team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Before Brazil’s dramatic quarterfinal penalty shootout exit to Croatia on Friday, their players and fans had regularly paid tribute to the figure they call ‘The King’.
Neymar’s extra-time goal, which put Brazil 1-0 ahead before Croatia leveled to force penalties, saw the Paris Saint-Germain forward equal Pele on 77 strikes for Brazil.
In an Instagram post, Pele congratulated his fellow Santos academy product on the feat and urged him to play on for the national team amid suspicion Neymar will quit after his latest World Cup heartbreak.
“I saw you grow,” Pele wrote. “I cheered for you every day and I can finally congratulate you for reaching my number of goals with Brazil.
“We both know that this is more than a figure. Our biggest duty as athletes is to inspire. Inspire our teammates of today, the next generations and, above all, everyone who loves our sport.
"Unfortunately this is not the happiest day for us,” Pele added.
“My record was set almost 50 years ago, and nobody had managed to get near it until now. You got there, kid. That shows how great your achievement is.
“Keep inspiring us. I will keep punching the air with joy for every goal you score, as I did in every match I saw you on the pitch,” Pele added.