Brazilian football legend Pelé is in the intensive care unit as he recovered from surgery to remove a tumour on the right side of his colon.

Hospital Albert Einstein in Sao Paulo said in a statement that 80-year-old Edson Arantes do Nascimento was recovering “in a satisfactory manner,” though still in intensive care. The hospital said that Pelé was expected to be moved to a regular room on Tuesday.

The hospital also said Pelé is “awake, actively talking and keeping his vital signs in normality”.

The three-time World Cup champion — he won the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cups, and remains Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals in 92 matches — also said on his Instagram that “each day I feel a little better”.

He went to the hospital for routine exams at the end of August when the tumour was found. The hospital said then that the tumour was identified during routine cardiovascular and laboratory exams.

Pelé has had mobility problems since a failed hip replacement surgery in 2012. He has been forced to use walkers and wheelchairs in public.