Maradona To Undergo Rehab

Former Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona is expected to check into a Toronto-area drug-rehabilitation center this week, The Sun reported Wednesday.

Maradona, 39, is undergoing treatment in Buenos Aires for a severe heart condition. Argentina's former captain was admitted to intensive care in an Uruguayan hospital last Tuesday with high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. Authorities opened a police investigation a day later, after blood and urine samples revealed "excessive cocaine."

Maradona selected Toronto because his brother, Lalo, lives there and the star is familiar with the city, the newspaper reported, citing an unidentified source.

Maradona trained with Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson at York University in 1997 and Lalo, also a pro soccer player, often works out with Johnson.

In fact, Lalo is expected to join Johnson in Africa within weeks to help train Al-Saad, the soccer-playing son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

©2000 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed