MICHAEL SCHUMACHER’S nephew broke his spine in the weekend’s horror fireball crash.
David Schumacher collided with Thomas Preining on lap six of Saturday’s Hockenheimring DTM event.
Both cars careered off the track at turn eight before Dennis Olsen and Rolf Ineichen also hit the barriers and Olsen’s car briefly burst into flames.
As the race was red-flagged, the four drivers were all taken for medical examinations.
Schumacher, son of Ralf, was initially sent home after getting the all clear, confirmed by his mother Cora on Instagram.
But now Ralf has stated the youngster has indeed suffered a broken back.
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He told Motorsport Magazine: “When David came home, he was still complaining about back pain.
“We then decided to go to a hospital in Salzburg to have an MRI done.
“It turned out that a lumbar vertebra was broken.
“According to the treating physicians, this means a break of around six weeks for David.”
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Despite the break, Bild report Schumacher will not require surgery.
And his six-week recovery coincides with the end of the DTM series which finished at the weekend.
But rival driver Preining blamed Schumacher, whose cousin Mick drives for Haas in Formula One, for the terrifying crash in western Germany.
Cora responded by hitting out at the Austrian on social media.
She wrote: “David Schumacher is doing well, that’s the most important thing.
“Nevertheless, I have to say that I absolutely don’t think it’s okay for Thomas Preining to make negative comments about our son every time without any self-reflection.
“He himself had oversteered and did not have his car under control. It’s always easier to look for faults in others.”
Seven-time F1 world champion Michael has been out of the public eye since suffering a severe brain injury in December 2013 during a skiing accident in the French Alps.
He was placed in a medically induced coma until June 2014 and is now back home in Switzerland with his family.
Since the horrifying incident nearly nine years ago, Michael, 53, has lived an extremely private life – with very few updates on his health.
Mick’s F1 future, meanwhile, is up in the air – with Haas yet to renew his contract beyond the end of this year.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
