‘Long road ahead’ as Schumacher leaves hospital

Michael Schumacher has left hospital to continue his recovery at home but the former Formula One champion faces "a long and difficult road ahead" after his skiing accident last year.

“Michael’s rehabilitation will take place at his home. Considering the severe injuries he suffered, progress has been made in the past weeks and months,” said the statement, issued by Schumacher’s manager, Sabine Kehm.

“There is still, however, a long and difficult road ahead. We ask that the privacy of Michael’s family continue to be respected, and speculations about his state of health are avoided.”

A spokesman for the university hospital in Lausanne, confirmed the 45-year-old German, a seven-times world champion, was discharged earlier in the day.

Schumacher suffered severe head injuries in a ski accident in Meribel in the French Alps on December 29 and was transferred by ambulance to Lausanne in June after emerging from a coma. He underwent nearly three months of treatment in an outdoor section of the hospital known as “Jardin des Sens” or Garden of the Senses, shielded from view. It specialises in the recovery of severely traumatised neurological patients by exposing them to water, scents and other elements.

The family home is along Lake Geneva in the Swiss town of Gland, where he has lived quietly for years with his German wife Corinna and their two teenaged children.

Last month a man suspected of leaking Schumacher’s medical files was found dead in his police cell, Zurich’s cantonal prosecutor said. The man, who was not named, worked as a manager at Swiss air rescue service Rega, which was involved in Schumacher’s transfer from Grenoble hospital to University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV).

French daily Le Dauphine Libere reported in July that leaked documents were being offered to European media for money.