Michael Schumacher admitted to hospital for 'secret treatment': report

Formula One legend Michael Schumacher was reportedly admitted to a Paris hospital for “secret treatment” on Monday, according to French newspaper Le Parisien.

Schumacher turned 50 on January 3 but has not been seen in public since a skiing accident in the French Alps five years ago that left him with severe head injuries and in a medically-induced coma for several months.

Schumacher was taken to the Pompidou hospital in southwest Paris on Monday afternoon, Le Parisien said, without citing its sources.

The French newspaper said the former champion would undergo treatment based on stem-cell transfusion by French surgeon Philippe Menasche.

A spokeswoman for Schumacher did not immediately return a request for comment.

Schumacher remains motor racing’s most successful driver, with a record 91 grand prix wins.

He won his first two titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995 before five in a row with Ferrari between 2000-2004.

In January his family released a statement saying he was in “the very best of hands”.

‘He keeps fighting’

Schumacher’s former boss at Ferrari provided a rare health update on the stricken Formula One legend in July.

Jean Todt said Schumacher is “making progress” in his recovery from devastating head injuries suffered in a skiing accident in 2013.

In an interview with Radio Monte-Carlo, Todt said the 50-year-old Schumacher was making “good progress”, adding that the pair had recently watched F1 on TV together.

“I’m always careful with such statements, but it’s true,” Mr Todt said.

“I saw the race together with Michael Schumacher at his home in Switzerland."

Updates on Schumacher’s health have been few and far between in the five and a half years that have passed since his accident.

“Michael is in the best hands and is well looked after in his house,” Todt said.

“He does not give up and keeps fighting.”

However Todt admitted Schumacher’s inability to communicate well has left him saddened.

“His family is fighting just as much and of course our friendship cannot be the same as it once was,” he said.

“Just because there’s no longer the same communication as before.

“He continues to fight. And his family is fighting the same way.”

with agencies