ARGENTINA'S Diego Maradona is reported to have kicked a long-time drug habit after a 10-day cure in a Swiss mountain clinic, according to his doctor yesterday.

In a statement released through authorities in Berne canton, psychiatrist Harutyan Arto Van said Maradona's treatment "ended successfully on Thursday evening" and his soccer career would now continue.

Maradona, 35, flew into Switzerland on August 13, two days after abruptly quitting his club Boca Juniors and announcing that he wanted to quit taking drugs once and for all for the sake of his two daughters.

Once considered the world's finest player, Maradona's turbulent career has included two suspensions for drug abuse. He was once arrested in Argentina for possession of cocaine.

Van and colleagues at the Bellelay psychiatric clinic last week outlined a 10-day treatment programme to end Maradona's psychological need for cocaine.

The treatment was in three stages, the first of which involved administering a drug by intravenous drip that boosted Maradona's natural defences.

The second stage involved sessions with psychiatrists to reduce his "emotional overburdening", and Van said Maradona was not a drug addict but had simply cracked "at fatal moments" under the burden of his worldwide fame.

The third stage, which Van said had been successfully completed this week, consisted of trying to neutralise his obsession with consuming drugs.

It was not clear whether Maradona had left Switzerland.