Thorpe 'in good spirits' as he fights infection - manager

Australian swimming great Ian Thorpe is in "good spirits" in a Sydney hospital as he fights a serious infection and reports that he might lose the use of his arm are "nonsense", his manager said on Wednesday.

The five-time Olympic champion, who retired after the Athens Olympics before making an unsuccessful comeback bid for the 2012 London Games, contracted the infection after undergoing shoulder surgery this year.

"He is fine, he is a battler," James Erskine told Channel 9's Today program.