Schumacher critical condition after emergency operation, doctors latest

Professor Stephane Chabardès, of the Grenoble hospital where Michael Schumacher is being treated, told a press conference on Monday morning that surgeons had performed an emergency operation after a brain scan revealed brain contusions and cerebral lesion.

Michael Schumacher, January, 2004 Reuters/Pool

Professor Jean-François Payen told reporters that the retired Formula One Champion was still in a critical condition and that it was not possible to give a prognosis.

Medical staff made clear that he was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and that otherwise, he would probably not have survived.

Neuro surgeon Emanuel Gay, of the Grenoble hospital, said that head injuries after ski accidents were sadly not unusual and that his medical staff were active in campaigns to wear ski helmets.

He said staff were working night and day on their patient.

Schumacher’s family is at his bedside and a prominent Paris neuro surgeon Gerard Saillant, who is a very close friend of the ex- Formula One Champion also spoke at the press conference but in a personal, not professional capacity.

The German racing legend who turns 45 at the end of the week, had been skiing off-piste on Sunday with his 14-year-old son in the upmarket Meribel resort when he fell and hit his head on a rock.

The resort initially described his head injury as "serious" but not life-threatening, but as the hours went by, news of his condition became more alarming.