According to media: Paul Gascoigne released from hospital

England's football legend Paul Gascoigne appears to be on the road to recovery after a stay in hospital. The 58-year-old, who has struggled with the effects of alcohol addiction for decades, is "back home and doing well," Carly Saward of The MNT reported in an email to the US news agency Associated Press (AP).

The former international player voluntarily went to a hospital emergency room on Friday "after struggling with a throat condition he had been suffering from for some time," the statement continued. For years, the battle with alcohol and the resulting massive health problems has dominated the life of "Gazza," as Gascoigne is known by fans and the media in England.

The British newspaper "The Sun" had previously reported that Gascoigne was found "semi-conscious" by a friend at his home in Poole, southern England, on Friday and taken to an intensive care unit. The situation was serious, he was subsequently transferred to a regular ward.

Gascoigne has been battling his alcohol addiction for decades and has also suffered from depression. He was already drinking during his playing career. "I drank four bottles of whiskey a day. How could I stand it? With cocaine! I was probably doing 16 lines a day," the 57-time England international said in November 2011.

Gascoigne was considered one of the world's best playmakers of his generation. He led the Three Lions to the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup and the 1996 European Championship. In 1990, he cried after losing to Germany in a penalty shootout; the scene is legendary. Gascoigne played for Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, where he is still considered a club legend, and Lazio, among others. But he was also famous for his antics on and off the pitch.