By Leshi Adebayo
Brazil football legend Pele has been discharged from hospital on Thursday following a colon tumor surgery.
The 80-year-old legend, who underwent the operation on September 4, had been receiving treatment at Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein Hospital for almost a month.
According to Reuters, a bulletin from the hospital disclosed that Pele would now undergo chemotherapy.
However, Pele wrote on an Instagram post with doctors from the hospital saying, “When the path is difficult, celebrate each step of the journey. Focus on your happiness. It’s true that I can’t jump anymore, but these past few days, I’ve been punching the air more times than usual.
“I am so happy to be back at home. I want to thank the entire Albert Einstein Hospital team, who made my stay a pleasant one, with a humane and very affectionate welcome.”
“Thanks also to all of you, who from afar, make my life complete with so many messages of love,” he added.
Recall that Pele underwent routine examinations at the beginning of September, when during one of the cardiovascular and laboratory tests, doctors found a suspicious lesion in his right colon, which was discovered to be a tumor, said Dr. Fabio Narsi and Dr. Miguel Cendoroglo Neto in a statement.
Pele, a three-time World Cup winner, who burst onto the international stage as a teenager in the 1958 World Cup, has remained in the spotlight even after retiring from active football, through international product endorsements as well as an outspoken public figure.
FIFA in 2000 named Pele its Player of the Century, an honor, which he shared with Argentina’s Diego Maradona.
In 2020, there were speculations over Pele’s health, but he debunked the claims that he was suffering from depression during his recovery from an hip surgery.
