SAO PAULO, Brazil — Soccer great Pelé was hospitalized to undergo chemotherapy treatment for a tumor on his colon, doctors said Wednesday.

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The 81-year-old sports icon from Brazil, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was receiving chemotherapy on his colon on Wednesday, a spokesperson at Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein hospital told CNN.

“He is in stable condition and expected to be released in the next few days,” the spokesperson told the news network.

Pelé, who won three World Cups with Brazil, had a tumor on the right side of his colon removed in September.

>> Soccer great Pelé recovering after tumor on colon removed

Pelé spent nearly a month in the hospital after his original surgery, and doctors said at the time that he would need to undergo chemotherapy, according to The Guardian.

Pelé won the 1958 World Cup as a teenager with Brazil and added titles in 1962 and 1970. He remains the country’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals, according to The Associated Press.

In 2000, FIFA named Pelé as its Player of the Century, CNN reported. It was an honor he shared with Argentina’s Diego Maradona.

Famous for rarely being injured during his career with Brazil and with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League, Pelé has suffered from hip problems and cannot walk without assistance, Reuters reported.

Pelé had been recovering at his home in Guarujá, outside Sao Paulo. He published several videos and photos on his social media sites to document his health and its improvement.

Pelé's latest Instagram post, published Tuesday, showed a photograph of him and German soccer great Franz Beckenbauer.

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