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LONDON (AP) — It's been nearly two months since Formula One auto racing champ Michael Schumacher suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident.
And some neurologists who aren't involved in his care say it appears that he's unlikely to make a full recovery.
Schumacher fell while skiing in France, hitting the right side of his head on a rock and cracking his helmet. Doctors removed blood clots from his brain, but some were left because they were too deeply embedded.
His condition stabilized after he was placed in a coma, and last month, doctors began withdrawing sedatives to try to wake him up.
His agent said today in an email that Schumacher is "still in the wake-up phase." His family has released few details of his condition.
But a neurologist at Oxford University in London says the fact that Schumacher still isn't conscious "does not bode well." Dr. Tipu Aziz says it suggests that the injury was "extremely severe and that a full recovery is improbable."
Still, other experts say it's too soon to make an accurate prognosis. Dr. Anthony Strong of King's College in London says, "About 90 percent of the recovery is made within nine to 12 months." But he adds, "The longer someone is in a coma, the worse their recovery tends to be."
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