SAO PAULO (AFP) - Football legend Pele, 80, has taken "several steps" towards recovery after a colon operation three weeks ago, his daughter said Friday (Sept 24).

"These last days, he has taken several steps," Kely Nascimento said in a message on Instagram with photos of the two of them playing cards, Pele smiling.

"He taught me how to play a card game and he is beating me hands down," she added.

On Wednesday, Nascimento had posted a video of the former Number 10 singing the anthem of Santos, his former club.

The three-time World Cup winner had undergone surgery for a suspected colon tumour, detected during a routine checkup, on September 4, and left intensive care last week.

The results of the biopsy have not been made public.

Considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time, Pele has been in poor health in recent years, and has had various stints in hospital.