Maradona has been fighting to pursue treatment abroad

Maradona received the go-ahead from the judge in charge of deciding where his treatment for cocaine addiction should continue, his lawyer said.

Maradona's family had taken out an injunction which forced him to undergo psychiatric care in Buenos Aires.

Maradona wants to return to Cuba, where he has been treated for four years.

"We'll be leaving as soon as possible," Alfredo Cahe, Maradona's personal doctor, told Argentine radio.

The 43-year-old former player was forced to enter a clinic in Buenos Aires earlier this year, after he was taken to hospital with heart and lung problems twice and nearly died.

His family had argued that his addiction left him unable to make decisions about his treatment.

The judge in the case, Norberto Garcia Vedia, said the family agreed to let him seek treatment abroad if he was accompanied by a relative.

Judge Garcia said that, according to psychiatrists, the star's "ability to make choices has been altered and can be swayed easily, but he is not crazy".

Maradona said earlier this month in a televised interview that he was "capable enough to decide [what] I should do with my life".

He says he is able to lead a relatively anonymous life in Cuba.

In Argentina, he said, "I go to the clinic door and I have a reporter there, while over there I don't have that kind of pressure."