ROME (REUTERS) - British physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking was discharged from hospital on Saturday (Dec 3) after two days of checks, the Rome-based hospital said.

Hawking, who was in the Italian capital to attend a conference at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and met Pope Francis on Monday, was taken to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Thursday night.

The hospital, considered one of the country's best and where popes are treated, said Hawking was in a good condition and was returning to Britain.

Hawking, 74, suffers from motor neurone disease, speaks through a computer and travels with a staff that includes two nurses.