GRENOBLE, France, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Racing superstar Michael Schumacher -- in a medically induced coma in France after his December skiing accident -- has pneumonia, a British newspaper reported.
Schumacher, 45, a seven-time Formula One champion from Germany, developed the respiratory infection last week in University Hospital in Grenoble, France, where doctors put him in a medically coma after his Dec. 29 skiing accident, the British newspaper The Mirror reported Wednesday.
Although Schumacher spokeswoman Sabine Kehm declined to comment on the report, the Mirror's report cited the German newspaper Bild, which has extensive contacts in the Formula One racing series.
Pneumonia is potentially lethal in Schumacher's case, and common in coma patients, Andreas Pringle of BG Hospital in Hamburg, Germany, said.
"About 30 [percent] to 50 percent of all patients who lie in a coma as long as Schumacher gets [pneumonia]," Pringle said.
