Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher is expected to undergo pioneering cell therapy surgery in Paris on Tuesday.

The 50-year-old arrived at the George Pompidou hospital in the capital of France on Monday for the treatment.

Schumacher, a seven-time world champion, suffered brain damage in a ski accident nearly six years ago.

His health has improved significantly since he emerged from an induced coma.

And he will now undergo surgery carried out by Professor Philippe Menasche, a cardiac surgeon specialising in stem cell research.

According to Le Parisien newspaper, Professor Menasche inspected Schumacher twice in Paris over the summer - the first time at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital and again when he was transferred to the George Pompidou.

The French paper reports, via the Mirror: “At the end of last July, the driver was due to return for a new session at the Georges Pompidou European Hospital.

"But an unexpected health problem prevented this. The treatment was postponed to the beginning of this week, when Professor Menasche got back from holiday."

Professor Menasche, 69, performed the world’s first embryonic cell transplant on a patient with heart failure in 2014.

Le Parisien’s report goes on to suggest that Schumacher will receive stem cells to obtain an anti-inflammatory effect throughout his system on Tuesday.

The treatment should take a few hours, with Schumacher returning home on Wednesday.

The motor racing icon was involved in the accident while skiing off-piste with his son Mick in the French Alps on December 29, 2013.

Schumacher’s head hit a rock and, although he was wearing a helmet, he suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Little has been shared about the German’s condition, due largely to Schumacher’s desire to disappear from the limelight.

"In general the media have never reported on Michael and Corinna's private life," Sabine Kehm, the former Ferrari driver’s manager, explained, per the Mirror.

"When he was in Switzerland, for example, it was clear he was a private individual.

"Once in a long discussion Michael said to me: 'You don't need to call me for the next year, I'm disappearing.'

"I think it was his secret dream to be able to do that some day.

"That's why now I still want to protect his wishes in that I don't let anything get out."