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Formula One ace Niki Lauda leaves hospital after lung transplant

Formula One ace Niki Lauda leaves hospital after lung transplant

By REUTERS

FILE PHOTO: Niki Lauda talks to the media at the airport in Duesseldorf, Germany, March 20, 2018. REUTERS

VIENNA: Niki Lauda, the three-time world Formula One champion, has left hospital and is in a good general condition after having had a lung transplant in August, his doctors said on Wednesday.

The 69-year-old, who underwent the six-hour surgery at the Vienna General Hospital, now has to undergo intensive rehabilitation for several weeks, the hospital said in a statement.

The Austrian motor racing legend's condition had been described as 'extremely critical' at the time of the surgery. Niki Lauda's doctors will hold a news conference on Thursday. Lauda formed the Laudamotion airline out of the Austrian unit of failed Air Berlin early this year and later sold 75 percent of it to Ryanair.