Football icon Pele's health improving

By Bala Chambers

BUENOS AIRES (AA) - Brazilian football legend Pele’s health is improving, but no date has been set for his discharge from the hospital, according to a medical report released Monday.

The report from medical staff at Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, “continues to show improvement in his clinical status, in particular the respiratory infection."

It added that Pele remains in a regular hospital room, is conscious, and has stable vital signs.

The former footballer was hospitalized on Nov. 29 in order to reassess his chemotherapy treatment following the removal of a tumor from his colon in September 2021.

On Monday, Pele's daughter, Kely Nascimento, published an Instagram story showing her father's ward and another story of her holding hands with her father with the words “I arrived.”

Prior to their elimination from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Brazil’s national team had held banners of Pele aloft to wish the football legend a speedy recovery.

The city of Doha had also projected images in tribute to Pele.

On Instagram, Pele has maintained a positive outlook as he receives medical care, describing himself as "strong with a lot of hope" and thanking the entire medical and nursing team for his care alongside "every message of love" he said he has received from well-wishers.

Pele helped Brazil win three World Cups in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

He is Brazil's leading scorer with 77 goals in 92 matches for his country and is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.