Vatican City - Pope John Paul will probably have to return to hospital in the coming days for medical checks amid fears that his health is worse than the Vatican is admitting, an Italian newspaper said on Tuesday.
There was no immediate comment from the Vatican.
In an unsourced report, influential daily Corriere della Sera said doctors at Rome's Gemelli hospital wanted to check a tube that was inserted into the Pope's windpipe last month to help him breathe.
They also wanted to review his diet because the 84-year-old Pontiff was having great trouble swallowing and might order a CAT scan to view his lungs, the paper said.
The Pope's poor health cast a long shadow over Holy Week celebrations. He failed in his efforts to speak on Easter Sunday and skipped a traditional blessing on Easter Monday for the first time in his papacy, now in its 27th year.
"His condition is perhaps less encouraging than the (Vatican) would like to let on," Corriere wrote on Tuesday. "Indeed, another persistent fact is circulating. The Pope in the coming days should be taken back to the Gemelli."