KUALA LUMPUR - Badminton legend Lee Chong Wei has been cleared to return to Malaysia on Sunday after undergoing treatment for nose cancer abroad.

Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Norza Zakaria said in a statement on Saturday that Lee had been given green light to return by his medical team.

Norza urged the media and members of the public to "respect his privacy and that of his family" after reports surfaced that the shuttler would return via private jet.

There had been intense speculation after a social media post claiming that the 36-year-old had been diagnosed with stage-3 nose cancer.

BAM later clarified that the three-time Olympic silver medallist had been diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer and was responding positively to the treatment.

Lee has been absent from the game after pulling out of this year's BWF World Championships and the Indonesian Asian Games due to "a respiratory related disorder" in July.

Before that, Lee seemed to be back in top shape this year, when he ended Kento Momota's winning streak to win his 12th Malaysian Open title and also to place second in the world rankings.