Michael Schumacher Shows 'Some Progress,' Though Recovery Could Take Three Years

A doctor who treated Michael Schumacher for six months, says the former F1 champion has shown “some progress” since being taken out of his coma.

Jean-Francois Payen is a doctor at the Grenoble hospital where Schumacher was treated following a head injury received during a skiing accident in France. Payen, who now visits Schumacher as he recovers at home, spoke to French radio station RTL and Le Parisien on Thursday. He said “I have noted some progress but I would say we should give him time.”

Prof Payen wouldn’t comment specifically on Schumacher’s case, but said that patients with similar injuries can expect a recovery “timescale which goes from one year to three years and we need to be patient.”

While this is only a minor update on his condition, it is positive that the 45-year-old is making progress, however slowly.

The news comes as current F1 racer Jules Bianchi remains in a ‘stable but critical’ condition in hospital after suffering a serious head injury following a horrific smash in Japan two weekends ago.