Diego Maradona has returned to an intensive care ward less than a week after discharging himself following 12 days in hospital with heart and lung problems, clinic officials said on Wednesday.

Local media reported the 43-year-old Maradona was taken back to hospital with breathing problems and was on a drip with an oxygen mask.

However, local TN television quoted Maradona's family doctor Alfredo Cahe as saying he had returned to hospital for a check-up.

Officials at the Suizo-Argentina clinic, where he had previously been treated, said Maradona was in the intensive care ward but gave no further details.

Local television channels went live to the posh Buenos Aires clinic where hundreds of fans last month held a day and night vigil, broadcasting footage of a private ambulance they said had transferred the soccer great before dawn.

The former World Cup winner was first taken ill with a swollen heart on April 18 after watching his beloved Boca Juniors play. He was heavily sedated and put on artificial respiration, prompting local media to prepare his obituary.

Boca supporters and Maradona fans began to turn up at the hospital, leaving "Get Well" messages posted on the hospital walls.

COCAINE ADDICTION

Local media reported on Monday that Maradona, regarded as one of the greatest players in soccer history, was planning to return to Cuba to resume treatment for cocaine addiction.

Maradona was this week seen spying on the press with binoculars from the grounds of the plush country getaway where he had been recovering. He surprised many Argentines by playing golf in the grounds only a day after leaving hospital.

He was reportedly paid $80,000 for a television interview on Friday in which he said he "was dying" but that fans had called him back from the tunnel of death.

Maradona has lived in Cuba for most of the past four years where he has been treated for drug addiction.

Rising from a Buenos Aires slum to lead Argentina to World Cup victory, Maradona's is the ultimate rags-to-riches story. In Argentina, he has gained the status of the likes of Che Guevara -- whose image is tattooed on his arm -- and Eva Peron.

At the peak of his form, he led Argentina to a 3-2 triumph over West Germany in the 1986 World Cup final but, in 1991, he failed a dope test for cocaine and was banned for 15 months.

He played in his fourth World Cup in the United States in 1994 but tested positive for a cocktail of drugs the day before he was due to make a record 22nd appearance.