Pelé, the legendary Brazilian soccer player, “took a tiny step back” in his recuperation from surgery to remove a tumor from his colon, but his daughter Kely Nascimento said Friday that he is “recovering nicely” at a hospital in Sao Paulo.
The 80-year-old Edson Arantes do Nascimento, however, was taken to the Albert Einstein hospital on Thursday night after experiencing “short breathing instability.” Pelé remained stable in “semi-intensive” care and “continues to heal,” according to the hospital. It did not provide any other information.
Kely Nascimento shared a photo of herself and her father on Instagram on Friday, which she said she took in his room at Albert Einstein Hospital.
Kely Nascimento said that “He is recovering well and within normal range. Promise! The normal recovery scenario for a man of his age after an operation like this is sometimes two steps forward and one step back. Yesterday he was tired and took a little step back.”
“Today he took two forwards!” she added, without giving more details.
Since Tuesday, when Pelé was taken out of intensive care, the hospital had not published a fresh update on his condition.”Thank you for all the love I get from you”
Later Pelé confirmed on social media that he is feeling well and that he had been visited by family members during the day.
“I continue to smile every day. Thank you for all the love I get from you,” Pelé said. Pelé’s tumor was discovered during routine checkups at the end of August. On September 4, he had surgery.
Pelé won three World Cups, in 1958, 1962, and 1970, and is still Brazil’s all-time best scorer with 77 goals in 92 games. It is a Guinness World Record that he scored 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, including friendlies.
