Kidney treatment suspended as Pele improves

Pele's condition is continuing to improve and doctors have suspended kidney treatment for the soccer great, a Brazilian hospital said on Sunday.

The Albert Einstein hospital said 74-year-old Pele, who won three World Cups with Brazil, remains in an intensive care unit but is no longer undergoing the hemodialysis that had been needed to help support his only kidney.

The hospital said in its latest report about Pele's condition that the Brazilian "has good clinical evolution" and remains "lucid and stable" in terms of blood pressure and the respiratory system.

"The renal support treatment was suspended until tomorrow (Monday), when its necessity will be reevaluated," the hospital said.

Doctors did not discard putting Pele back on hemodialysis in the next few days if his body does not respond well to the suspension of the treatment.

Pele was hospitalized last Monday after being diagnosed with a urinary tract infection that stemmed from a Nov 13 surgery to remove kidney stones.

The hospital said Pele continued to respond well to antibiotic treatment and showed no signs of the urinary infection.

Pele's son, former player Edinho, was in the hospital on Saturday and said his father was "very upbeat".

Edinho, who is appealing a 33-year prison sentence for laundering money to a drug gang, said Pele is expected to be released from the hospital by the end of next week.

As a player, Pele had surgery to remove a kidney after complications from a broken rib sustained during a game.

Pele's personal aide, Jose Fornos Rodrigues, said the absence of the kidney was not affecting Pele's treatment. The hospital has declined to say whether missing a kidney was a problem in Pele's case.

Brazilian and international media have been closely monitoring Pele's condition since last week, when the hospital said he became unstable and was transferred to an intensive care unit.

A national hero and a worldwide ambassador to the game, Pele is regarded by many as the greatest player of all time. He is known as soccer's most prolific scorer with 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches.