Muhammad Ali's Twitter feed posted this photo to disprove rumours his health was failing © Getty Images Enlarge

Muhammad Ali's family have denied reports that his health is deteriorating after comments from his brother which suggested he was close to death.

'He's in a bad way. He's very sick," Rahman Ali told The Sun on Sunday. "It could be months, it could be days. I don't know if he'll last the summer. He's in God's hands."

However, Rahman admitted that he had not seen his brother since July - claiming that the former boxer's wife, Lonnie, was refusing to allow him access, forcing the pair to communicate only via telephone.

Within hours Ali's daughter told Associated Press her father was "fine … these rumors pop up every once in a while but there's nothing to them". The family later posted a photo on Twitter of Ali sitting in a chair wearing a Ray Lewis T-shirt.

Ali suffers from Parkinson's disease. He celebrated his 71st birthday last month.

There were previously concerns for Ali's health back in December 2011, when he was taken to hospital after falling unconscious at his Arizona home. He was treated for dehydration.

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