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BUENOS AIRES - Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona is recovering more quickly than expected from alcohol-induced hepatitis and his personal doctor said today he could leave the hospital this weekend.
Maradona, 46, was hospitalised nearly two weeks ago for alcohol abuse treatment. Known as one of the game's greatest players, Maradona has fought cocaine addiction and obesity since retiring 10 years ago.
His personal doctor, Alfredo Cahe, told Reuters that Maradona is completely lucid and is anxious to leave the private Buenos Aires clinic where he is being treated.
The problem is where he goes next, Cahe said.
"If I had a place in this country with open spaces and gardens, I would take him there, but I can't find that place. I think the best thing will be to take him to his parents' house for a week," said Cahe, who has tended to Maradona for years.
The same problem arose in 2004 when Maradona suffered severe heart and respiratory problems linked to his cocaine use. When his health improved, Maradona was transferred to a psychiatric clinic because nothing more suitable was found.
Cahe said he hoped to send Maradona to a clinic in Switzerland soon after his release from the hospital -- a plan he had suggested just before the soccer star fell ill. But he said he was not sure the plan would materialise.
Maradona underwent drug rehabilitation in Cuba and Argentina before a stomach-stapling operation in 2005 helped him lose weight. Later that year, he hosted a TV talk show in Argentina after declaring himself fully recovered.
Soccer's governing body, FIFA, named Maradona -- the former captain who led Argentina to a World Cup victory in 1986 -- and Brazil's Pele the two greatest players of the 20th century.
- REUTERS
