SAO PAULO (AP) - Soccer great Pele isn't showing signs of the urinary tract infection that prompted his hospitalization this week and doctors said they will suspend kidney treatment on Sunday.
The Albert Einstein hospital said Saturday that the 74-year-old Pele remains in an intensive care unit, but his condition was constantly improving.
"The renal support treatment will continue to be administered until (Sunday) morning and then it will be paused," doctors said in a statement.
It wasn't clear if Pele would be allowed to leave intensive care immediately after the treatment was suspended.
Pele has been undergoing intravenous kidney treatment - a type of hemodialysis to filter waste particles from his blood - since the beginning of the week.
He was hospitalized Monday after being diagnosed with the urinary infection that stemmed from a Nov. 13 surgery to remove kidney stones.
The hospital had said in a previous statement on Saturday that there was "no change" in the antibiotic treatment being administered to the three-time World Cup champion and "all blood and urine cultures have returned negative."
The hospital said Pele was "lucid, talking and stable" in terms of blood pressure and the respiratory system.
Pele's personal aide, Jose Fornos Rodrigues, said Friday that Pele has had one kidney since the time he was a player. He had surgery to remove the kidney in the 1970s after complications from a broken rib.
Rodrigues said the absence of the kidney wasn't affecting Pele's treatment.
Pele's condition has been closely monitored in Brazil and the rest of the world since the hospital said he became unstable and was transferred to an intensive care unit.
Pele, a national hero and a worldwide ambassador to the game, is regarded by many as the greatest player of all time. He is known as soccer's most prolific scorer with 1,281 goals in 1,363 career matches.