Medical experts say Schumacher 'unlikely' to make 'complete recovery' from 'induced' coma

Medical experts have reportedly said that Formula One legend Michael Schumacher is 'unlikely' to make a complete recovery after nearly two months in a medically-induced coma.

The seven-time German world champion suffered serious head injuries after falling while skiing in the French Alps, by hitting the right side of his head on a rock, following which doctors operated to remove blood clots from his brain.

According to the Daily Express, although Schumacher's condition has since stabilized with doctors at the Grenoble hospital reducing sedatives to wake him, a neurologist said that the fact that the German has not yet woken up implies that the injury has been extremely severe and that a full recovery is improbable.

The report mentioned that patients who have had major head injuries are sometimes put in a drug-induced coma to give the brain a chance to heal as a coma reduces the need for blood flow and may help the swelling go down, although the expert said that it becomes 'worrisome' if there are no positive signs from the coma.

The neurologist said that Schumacher's doctors are probably doing regular brain scans to look for signs of activity although he added that such signs might be difficult to detect if he is still being sedated.

However, other experts said it was premature to make an accurate prognosis as it is still 'early days' given that about 90 percent of the recovery is made within nine to 12 months.

The report further said that as several weeks have passed since the accident, doctors might also have a better idea of how the rest of Schumacher's brain is doing, with doctors saying that if Schumacher does eventually come out of the coma, he probably would face significant disabilities because of the length of time he has already spent comatose.