SOCCER legend George Best is unlikely to survive beyond the next 24 hours, his doctor has said on Thursday lunchtime.

He could not recover from the internal bleeding that developed during the night, Professor Roger Williams said.

"I have to tell you his hours are numbered and it's very upsetting," Professor Williams told BBC News.

The former Northern Ireland star, 59, deteriorated with a lung infection on Friday, after almost eight weeks in Cromwell Hospital, west London.