No change in Best's condition

George Best remained on a ventilator today after there was no change in his condition overnight.

The 59-year-old football legend has been in the intensive care unit at the Cromwell Hospital, west London, after he suffered a severe setback and a lung infection.

Doctors were today hoping for an improvement after his condition deteriorated yesterday in his fight for life.

Professor Roger Williams, who has been overseeing treatment, said Tuesday night had not passed well.

Speaking outside the hospital yesterday, he said: “The situation is that he didn’t have a very good night, had a disturbed night and had to be put back on the ventilator.

“But he is still very alert, very sedated on the ventilator, so I don’t think there is a very big change.

“He remains very ill, there is a bit more of a problem with bleeding than we had before,” he said.

“We did have it some weeks ago, it seems to be coming back to some degree again – the loss of blood – which is a worry.

“Otherwise he remains critically ill but fairly stable.”

Prof Williams said the former footballer was responding when spoken to, but was not fully conscious because he is under sedation.

The doctor said the longer Best remained in the same condition without making a substantial improvement, the more worrying it became.

“We had hoped we would have seen a more marked improvement over these last few days back to where he was some week or 10 days ago,” he said.

He insisted there was “still a chance” of recovery, but said some improvement would have to be shown soon.

Best’s father Dickie, 87, and several of his sisters are at his bedside.

After weeks of illness Best’s health deteriorated significantly on Friday after he developed a lung infection.

He was admitted to the Cromwell Hospital on October 1 with flu-like symptoms and earlier this month suffered a kidney infection.

Best, who has battled alcoholism for years, had a liver transplant in 2002.