Pelé hospitalized due to colon tumor, to be released in days

SAO PAULO — Brazilian soccer great Pelé was hospitalized in Sao Paulo to continue his colon tumor treatment.

Hospital Albert Einstein said in a statement on Wednesday that 81-year-old Edson Arantes do Nascimento is “stable and expected to be released in the next few days.”

Pelé’s assistant Pepito Fornos told The Associated Press that Pelé is having chemotherapy sessions to treat the tumor that was found during routine exams at the end of August.

Pelé was briefly put in intensive care after surgery on his colon. He was discharged on Sept. 30, almost one month after being hospitalized, and doctors said he would begin chemotherapy.

Kely Nascimento, a daughter of Pelé’s living in the United States, posted a picture of one of his sisters and her father in hospital. Both were smiling.

“My father finished a procedure that was scheduled for months,” Nascimento said. “In two or three days he will go back home to enjoy Christmas.”

Pelé had been recovering at his home in Guarujá, outside Sao Paulo. He published several videos and photos on his social media channels showing his health is improving.

The Brazilian’s latest Instagram post was published Tuesday; a picture of him and another World Cup winner, Germany great Franz Beckenbauer.

Pelé won the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cups and remains Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals in 92 matches.

Before his health scare, Pelé had been staying out of the public eye following the cancer-related death of his brother, Jair, in March 2020.