A beaming Pele has been discharged from a Sao Paulo clinic, joking about plans to play in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics after recovering from a kidney complaint that left him in intensive care.
The Brazilian legend's health had left the soccer-mad nation on tenterhooks since his admission to the clinic just over a fortnight ago.
But the 74-year-old icon of Brazil's golden age assured his compatriots on Tuesday that while he had given a fright by the health scare he had always been confident of recovering.
"I wasn't afraid of dying as I am a man with three hearts," the three-time World Cup-winner joked, alluding to his birthplace, Tres Coracoes, which means "three hearts" in Portuguese.
Grinning broadly despite walking somewhat gingerly and having clearly lost some weight, Pele told reporters he felt fit enough to play for Brazil in the Rio Olympics in 2016, declaring: "Three professionals can play in the Olympics. I'm one of the three!"
Thanking his medical team, Pele, who earlier in November underwent kidney stone treatment at the same clinic before returning 10 days later after complaining of abdominal pain, admitted he had had a "real fright" at first after he was briefly placed in intensive care.
The star was hospitalised on November 24 with a suspected urinary tract infection requiring antibiotics.
Three days after his admission, the hospital placed the man nicknamed "O Rei" - "The King" - in intensive care after his condition became "clinically unstable," briefly alarming fans.
Some Brazilian media reported Pele had septicemia, a blood infection, after he initially failed to respond to treatment.
But the clinic stopped renal assistance three days later and moved Pele to semi-intensive care after extensive tests.
Pele's doctor, Dr. Fabio Nasri, told reporters bacteria had caused inflammation, prompting the precautionary move into intensive care, adding he had remained conscious throughout.
Dr. Nasri indicated Pele "will now undergo a period of rehabilitation and have to take things easily for ten days. Then there will be physiotherapy before he undergoes fresh tests."
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