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F1 champion Michael Schumacher has now contracted pneumonia according to a report in German newspaper Bild-Zeitung. The racing legend, 45, is still in a coma in Grenoble hospital after a skiing accident, with recent media suggesting he was not responding to external stimuli.
The latest report raises more concerns about Schumacher's health, with pneumonia often having a severely debilitating -- and sometimes fatal -- impact on those who are already ill.
However there has not been official confirmation of the pneumonia, with Schumacher's spokeswoman, Sabine Kehm, responding to Bild that the family is "not commenting on speculation."
Schumacher had been placed in an induced coma by doctors after his December 29 accident on the slopes of the exclusive Meribel ski resort in France, in which his head hit a rock causing brain swelling.
His medical team said a fortnight ago they had started reducing anaesthetic and slowly awaken him, but reports earlier this week suggested that while he had blinked early in the process, it was not an intentional response and that he was not reacting to stimuli.
If Schumacher has contracted pneumonia, doctors may delay the processs of waking him, as the respiratory condition would undermine his ability to breathe, meaning he would likely have to remain on the artificial ventilator needed by those in induced comas.
Rumours have flared about Schumacher's condition, with the Grenoble hospital having to deny a flurry of social media speculation last week that he had died.
This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott
