Formula One legend Michael Schumacher’s family released a rare statement on the eve of his 50th birthday, informing his fans that he is in the very best of hands and everything humanly possible is being done to help him recover from a skiing accident five years ago.

The seven-time world champion – a record that still stands – turned 50 on Thursday but his millions of fans are none the wiser as to what the German superstar’s exact state of health is.

Schumacher, who won 91 Grand Prix during his stellar career, suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident in December 2013 and has not been seen in public since.

He is understood to be receiving medical care at the family home near Lake Geneva in Switzerland, but updates regarding his health have been few and far between.

His privacy – there have been precious few updates about his status – has been zealously enforced by his wife Corinna.

On Wednesday, however, the Schumacher family provided a rare public statement on their social media platforms.

Here’s the full translated text:

“We are very happy to celebrate Michael’s 50th birthday [on Thursday] together with you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts that we can do this together. As a gift to him, you and us, Keep Fighting Foundation has created a virtual museum. The Official Michael Schumacher App will be released, so that we can review all together Michael’s successes. The app is another milestone in our effort to do justice to him and you, his fans, by celebrating his accomplishments. We wish you a lot of fun with it.

Michael can be proud of what he has achieved, and so are we! That’s why we remember his successes with the Michael Schumacher Private Collection exhibition in Cologne, by publishing memories in social media and by continuing his charitable work through the Keep Fighting Foundation. We want to remember and celebrate his victories, his records and his jubilation.

You can be sure that he is in the very best of hands and that we are doing everything humanly possible to help him. Please understand if we are following Michael’s wishes and keeping such a sensitive subject as health, as it has always been, in privacy. At the same time we say thank you very much for your friendship and wish you a healthy and happy year 2019.”

With inputs from AFP