Sport

Ralf facing three-month injury lay-off

MOTOR SPORT/Formula One: Ralf Schumacher may be out for up to three months after medical tests revealed he suffered two spinal…

Thu Jul 01 2004 - 01:00

MOTOR SPORT/Formula One: Ralf Schumacher may be out for up to three months after medical tests revealed he suffered two spinal fractures in a crash during the US Grand Prix this month, his spokesman said yesterday.

Schumacher, eighth in the Formula One championship behind his brother, world champion and runaway leader Michael, might effectively be out for the remainder of the season which ends in Brazil on October 24th.

The spokesman said doctors at the clinic in the west German spa town of Bad Nauheim, where Schumacher is being treated, believed he was likely to need eight to 12 weeks to recover.

The Williams driver, who turned 29 yesterday, spun and crashed heavily into a concrete wall during the US Grand Prix on June 20th, suffering concussion and back pains.

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"To be honest, I imagined my birthday would be rather different. Yesterday's diagnosis was a real blow," the German driver said on his website. "But so be it. What's happened has happened. The injury is worse than feared. I have to get through it."

The Schumacher brothers' manager Willi Weber said Ralf was certain to miss at least the next three races.

For this weekend's French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, Williams have confirmed Spaniard Marc Gene, the team's official reserve driver, will replace Schumacher. Gene finished fifth when he replaced Schumacher at last September's Italian Grand Prix.

Schumacher missed that race event after suffering concussion in a high-speed crash in testing.

Future decisions about driver nominations would be taken at a later date, the team statement added, a disclosure that will have paddock gossips frantically searching for Jacques Villeneuve's telephone number.

The French-Canadian was axed by BAR at the start of this season but has been linked in recent weeks with a return to Williams, the team with which he won the 1997 drivers' title.

Williams are in the process of lining up a new driver pairing for 2005, as Juan Pablo Montoya leaves for McLaren at the end of this season and Ralf Schumacher has been tipped for a move to Toyota. The team may now decide to give a new driver a headstart on next year's campaign.

Schumacher's contract negotiations with Williams stalled earlier this year and an announcement on his future was expected this weekend, though that now seems unlikely.