Hospital says Pele’s condition is improving

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2008 file photo, Brazil's soccer great Pele greets supporters prior to a friendly soccer match, in Brasilia, Brazil. A Brazilian hospital says Pele has been transferred to a "special care" unit to be monitored while being treated for a urinary infection. The Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, said in a statement Thursday. Nov. 27, 2014, that the 74-year-old Pele was transferred to a quieter wing. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo, File) FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2008 file photo, Brazil's soccer great Pele greets supporters prior to a friendly soccer match, in Brasilia, Brazil. A Brazilian hospital says Pele has been transferred to a "special care" unit to be monitored while being treated for a urinary infection. The Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, said in a statement Thursday. Nov. 27, 2014, that the 74-year-old Pele was transferred to a quieter wing. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo, File)

By Associated Press November 28, 2014 1 min read

SAO PAULO (AP) – A Brazilian hospital says Pele’s condition is improving as he undergoes temporary kidney treatment in an intensive care unit.

The Albert Einstein hospital says the 74-year-old Pele is “lucid” and breathing normally without any support.

The Brazilian soccer great has been hospitalized since Monday because of a urinary infection. He had surgery to remove kidney stones on Nov. 13.

On Thursday, Pele denied that he was put into an intensive care unit. He and his staff had said he was only transferred to a special unit where he could have more privacy while being monitored.

They could not immediately be contacted on Friday.