F1 driver Michael Schumacher 'may be in a coma for ever'
German magazine Focus reported: “Schumacher could be in a coma for ever.”
The publication quoted medical experts who say his condition is so grave there is a chance he will not awaken.
And the respected Bild newspaper said doctors currently have no plans to try to rouse him from his medically-induced coma.
Ex-Ferrari racer Schuey, 45, has now been unconsciousness for 18 days since smashing his head on a rock while skiing off-piste in the French Alps.
The coma means that oxygen to his brain is reduced, in theory allowing him to make a speedier recovery.
But he has not recovered anywhere near enough to be awoken at the hospital in Grenoble, France, leading to reports he might be permanently comatose.
Patients placed in comas are usually brought out of them before 14 days.
Doctors gave Schumacher a fresh scan this week.
Neurosurgeon Andreas Zieger of the University Clinic for neurosurgery in Oldenburg, Germany, said: “There may have been complications.
“A coma can in theory be maintained for a lifetime.”
Cologne neurological Professor Gereon Fink fears the long coma indicates serious brain damage.