The daughter of Brazilian legend Pele insists he is on the road to recovery, scotching reports he'd been readmitted to intensive care. 

The 80-year old has been in hospital in Sao Paulo for over a fortnight, after tests revealed a "suspicious lesion".

It's since been reported that Pele required surgery to remove a tumour from his intestinal colon.

The three-time World Cup winner was said to be "doing well" and "is not in pain", according daughter Kely Nascimento following his operation..

Pele himself was quoted on the social media site upon his move out of ICU as saying, "My friends, this is a message for each of you.

"Don't think for a minute that I haven't read the thousands of loving messages I've received around here.

"Thank you very much to each one of you, who dedicated a minute of your day to send me positive energy. Love, love and love!

"I have already left the ICU and I am in my room. I continue every day happier, with a lot of disposition to play 90 minutes, plus extra time. We will be together soon!"

Reports from Brazil on Friday suggested Pele had suffered a setback and had re-entered ICU.

But Kely Nascimento assured his fans that his recovery is going as expected.

"Hi friends. I don't know what is going on with the rumors out there but my DMs are booming!!!," she wrote on Instagram next to a picture with her father.

"There's already a lot of anxiety roaming the world these days and we don't want to be the reason for more."

She added, "He is recovering well and within normal range. Promise!

"The normal recovery scenario for a man of his age, after an operation like this , is sometimes two steps forward and one step back.

"Yesterday he was tired and took a little step back. Today he took two forwards!"

She also thanked the staff at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo where Pele is being treated.

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