Hold on to your horses; Michael Schumacher’s return to Formula One is still not set in stone – at least not yet.

While the entire sporting world is waiting in breathless anticipation for the 7-time World Champion’s return to Formula One, there’s one thing that could potentially derail all of that: Schumi’s neck.

Not a lot of people know that before the German decided to fill the seat vacated by the injured Felipe Massa, he sustained an injured neck while testing a German Superbike last February.

As a result of the accident, Schumacher had to be hospitalized for a few days and it was more than three months later before he saddled back up on a racing bike. While it seems like the injury occurred ages ago, Schumacher still has to get clearance from a group of doctors that will perform a series of intense training and medical checks.

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And if you want to base anything from his recent test in a 2007 Ferrari last week, where he complained after that his “neck pinches a bit”, it’s becoming less clear if Schumi ever gets to see the green light of a Formula One race.

Sabine Kehm, Schumacher’s spokeswoman, confirmed that the German’s return to F1 is all but certain. In an interview with ZDF, she said, “It is not quite certain yet that his neck will hold and the comeback can be started. It all depends on how he does in the medical investigations."

There’s no question that we’re all pulling for Schumacher to pass the test. If for nothing else, seeing him back behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car is something that we all can’t wait to see.