PARIS - Michael Schumacher, the seven-time Formula One world champion, underwent emergency brain surgery after sustaining a serious head injury while skiing in the French Alps on Sunday, his manager said.
Schumacher was in a coma when he arrived at a hospital in Grenoble, his manager Sabine Kehm said Sunday in a statement. Kehm issued an update on Schumacher's condition saying the 44-year-old German remained critical.
Local police earlier Sunday said Schumacher suffered a "serious" concussion after falling, that he was conscious and his life wasn't in danger.
The former race driver was wearing a helmet and the crash involved no one else, a spokesman for the Peleton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne said by telephone.
"It was a fall on the slope between the Biche and Chamois slopes in Meribel," the spokesman said. "The shock was quite violent."
Schumacher fell and struck his head on a rock while skiing unmarked and ungroomed slopes in Meribel, the Associated Press reported, citing a statement from the resort.
Kehm said the ex-world champion wasn't alone when the accident happened. The AP reported Schumacher was skiing with his 14-year-old son at the time.
Schumacher won Formula One titles with the Benetton team in 1994 and 1995 and took five consecutive championships with Ferrari from 2000-04. He left Formula One after last year following a three-season comeback.
Schumacher initially quit auto racing in 2006 as the world's highest-earning athlete, with salary and endorsements of $58 million, according to Sports Illustrated.
In 2009, he called off a temporary comeback to the sport because of neck pain lingering from a motorcycle accident. Schumacher then returned to Formula One in 2010 with the Mercedes GP team. While he won 91 races in his career, he failed to win any during his comeback.