Pele will be moved out of intensive care in the next couple of days as he continues his recovery from surgery to remove a tumour from his colon.
Daughter Kely Nascimento posted on Instagram a picture of the 80-year-old football great smiling from his bed at the Alberto Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo. She said he was “doing well” and that he would “get through this”.
Concerns about Pele’s health emerged at the start of the month when he denied reports he had fainted, insisting he had undergone “routine examinations”.
But, five days later, the three-time World Cup winner announced that doctors had discovered a tumour and that the “suspicious lesion had been removed”.
Daughter Nascimento said on Monday night: "He is doing well post surgery, he is not in pain and is in a good mood (annoyed that he can only eat jello but will persevere!). He will move into a regular room in the next day or two and then go home.
"He is strong and stubborn and with the support and care of the brilliant team at Einstein and all of the love, energy and light that the world is sending, he will get through this!"
The hospital said last Friday that Pele was recovering satisfactorily.
Pele has suffered from hip problems for years and cannot walk unaided. His public appearances were already being cut before the Covid pandemic and since then he has made few unnecessary forays outside his house near Santos.
