Pele to be released today

Brazilian football legend Pele will leave hospital today after recovering well from prostate surgery, doctors said, following his latest health scare.

The 74-year-old underwent surgery on Tuesday at Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, the same facility that treated him last year for a severe urinary tract infection.

"His release is scheduled for tomorrow but there is no specific time," the hospital said in a statement on Friday, stressing Pele was making a "good recovery" and tests showed no signs of cancerous tumors.

A close friend and advisor, Jose Fornos Rodrigues, told AFP that his surgery – a transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP – "was a very simple procedure."

"Everything is going well with Pele, he is resting," the aide said.

Media reports said the surgery for an enlarged prostate – a common condition in aging men – was aimed at preventing a repeat of the urinary infection that sent Pele to the hospital last year.

The global sports icon has suffered a number of health crises in recent months.

He underwent surgery for kidney stones in November, and then came down with an infection that required treatment in a hospital intensive care unit for several days.

His one remaining kidney – the other was removed following a rib injury during his playing days – stopped working and had to be treated with dialysis.

The only player to win three World Cup titles, Pele was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999.

The athlete, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is widely regarded as the greatest football player of all time.