INTERNATIONAL: Brazil soccer great Pele says he’s on the mend after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour from his colon. The 80-year-old has not said whether the tumour was malignant, but took to social media late on Monday to say he was feeling good.

The Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo says it is keeping Pele in intensive care, but he is expected to be transferred into a private ward later on Tuesday. It says the tumour has been sent for tests. The statement came just hours after a Brazilian news outlet said Pele had spent six days in hospital after going in for his annual medical. It also came days after Pele refuted reports he had fainted.

The football icon posted on Monday that he had undergone surgery at the weekend to remove what he called a “suspicious lesion” from his colon, and that the tumour had been identified during his annual check-up. He is expected to make a full recovery, with doctors saying the whole tumour has been removed.

^{Photo: HOSPITAL WHERE PELE IS RECOVERING FROM SURGERY, POST FROM PELE'S SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT, FILE FOOTAGE OF PELE}