Soccer legend George Best could be moved out of intensive care and into a specialist liver ward today if he continues to recover quickly from his transplant operation.
Doctors last night said the former Manchester United and Northern Ireland star was in "excellent form" as he recovered from his life-saving eight-hour surgery.
He remained in intensive care at the Cromwell Hospital, west London but has been taken off a ventilator and has uttered his first words since the operation.
Doctors said 56-year-old Best could be moved to a specialist liver ward as early as today. Consultant physician Prof Roger Williams said: "We are taking it day by day, but he's doing incredibly well".
Prof Williams said over the next 24 to 48 hours Best would be watched very carefully, adding that rejection of the liver should not be a major problem but could still occur.
Best would have survived about three to 12 months without the liver transplant and had been waiting about seven to eight months for a suitable liver.
He disclosed last year that he was considering a transplant after staying sober for 12 months - the criterion for a place on the waiting list.
PA