Pele ‘punching the air’ and getting ‘better every day’

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Brazilian football legend Pele said Sunday he is “punching the air” to celebrate “every better day” after the 80-year-old suffered his latest health scare.

“As you can see, I’m punching the air in celebration of every better day,” Pele wrote on Instagram beside a photograph of him sitting in a hospital chair, watched over by two medical staff.

The three-time World Cup winner was Friday briefly transferred back to an intensive care unit at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, where he underwent surgery earlier this month, after suffering breathing difficulties.

“A good mood is the best medicine and I have plenty of that. It couldn’t be different,” he added Sunday.

“I have received so much affection that my heart is full of gratitude. Thanks to all the amazing staff at Albert Einstein Hospital!”

His condition had been described as stable.

Pele’s daughter Kely Nascimento also posted a photo of herself next to her father in the hospital on Friday, seeking to cheer up his fans. 

On September 6, the hospital said Pele had undergone surgery for a suspected colon tumor.

“This is the normal recovery scenario for a man his age. After an operation like this, sometimes you take two steps forward, one step back,” Nascimento wrote on Instagram. 

“Yesterday he was tired and he took a step back. Today, he has taken two steps forward,” she added.