Michael Schumacher with his wife Corinna (Picture: STR/AFP via Getty Images)
Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher has allegedly been seen in public for the first time in 11 years as he attended his daughter’s wedding.
The 55-year-old’s life has been shrouded in secrecy after he suffered a life-changing brain injury in a ski accident in 2013.
Prior to the accident, he was widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, and is a seven-time World Champion.
But this Saturday saw him attend his daughter Gina-Marie’s wedding at the family’s secluded four-acre Mallorca villa worth around £27 million.
His reported reappearance has meant many are wondering what happened to the sportsman, and why he hasn’t been seen for more than a decade.
What happened to Michael Schumacher?
The German national suffered a severe brain injury after he hit his head against a rock at the French resort of Meribel in December 2013 while skiing with then 14-year-old son Mick.
They were descending the Combe de Saulire below the dent de Burgin, and despite being an experienced skier and wearing a helmet, Michael fell and hit his head.
He was crossing an off-piste area behind the slope as he went to help another skier, but he hit one of the exposed rocks and launched through the area before colliding with another rock 10 metres away and hitting the right side of his head.
The 55-year-old’s life has been shrouded in secrecy after he suffered a life-changing brain injury in a ski accident in 2013 (Picture: Giorgio Benvenuti/EPA/REX/Shutterstock)
His wife has kept his current condition private (Picture: FIA via Getty Images)
The impact was so strong his helmet was cracked in two, and medics said he would have likely died if he was not wearing the headgear.
He underwent two operations and was placed in a medically induced coma.
By March 2014 doctors saw small but encouraging signs his condition was improving, and in early April 2014 he was showing moments of consciousness.
By June he was withdrawn from the coma, and left the French Grenoble Hospital for the Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland. In September he was brought back home to continue his recovery.
What do we know about his condition now?
Since 2014, Schumacher has received medical treatment at his home in Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
The extent of his injuries has never been revealed, but it marked an end to his public life.
His condition is reported to be slowly improving (Picture: Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)
In November 2014 it was reported he was ‘paralysed and in a wheelchair’ and was unable to speak.
But the following year Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm said his condition was slowly improving.
In July 2019 former Ferrari manager Jean Todt said he was making ‘good progress’ but ‘struggles to communicate’.
Only three close family members and a team of medics are said to have access to him.
In a 2021 Netflix documentary, Mr Schumacher’s wife Corinna said: ‘We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to …read more
Source:: Metro
