Michael Schumacher health update: family is standing by decision to keep the athlete's condition private

The Schumacher family is standing by their initial choice to keep recuperating Michael Schumacher out of the public eye for the foreseeable future.

In a new statement picked up by The Telegraph from the German racing icon's manager Sabine Kehm, the latter reiterates that they will be keeping the ongoing news blackout in terms of Michael's progress. This is despite the fact that a lot of fans and former comrades who are not part of the inner circle of the family are clamoring for any official news about the athlete.

"Michael's health is not a public issue, and so we will continue to make no comment in that regard," Kehm insists. "We have to protect his intimate sphere. Legally seen and in the longer term, every statement related to his health would diminish the extent of his intimate sphere."

The news blackout has received occasional backlash from people who reasoned out that they are just worried about Michael and would be very grateful if some sort of update can be rolled out from time to time. Oftentimes, wife Corinna gets slammed for the decision, with Michael's ex-manager Willi Weber directly calling her out saying that the athlete's fans deserve the truth. On top of that, it indirectly prompts the surfacing of false news as well as baseless speculations popping out everywhere due to the lack of details regarding such a high-profile personality.

As it turns out, it seems like it was actually the former champ's decision to be very strict in terms of privacy. Kehm explained that they are just executing the request "but we do this with full commitment to Michael's guidelines and can only thank people for their understanding."

"Michael has always been very protective of his privacy, even during the most successful times of his career. He has always made sure there is a clear and distinct line between his public persona and his private one," she added.

Back in December 2013, during a family vacation in the French Alps, Michael and son Mick went skiing when the racing champ accidentally fell and hit his head on a rock. And despite wearing a helmet, this impact on his head was quite severe that he would have most likely died without wearing any protective gear. In the following months after, he was reportedly put in a medically induced coma until he was slowly taken out of it. Now, he is said to be recuperating in his home with close monitoring from a carefully selected medical team.