Just days after being transferred to a specialized recovery and functional rehabilitation centre, Alex Zanardi has been returned to intensive care.

On Tuesday, the Santa Maria alle Scotte hospital in Siena where Zanardi has been treated since his accident in mid-June, announced that the sedo-analgesia program which he was undergoing following his admission had ended and that he was being transferred to a specialized recovery and functional rehabilitation centre.

The recovery centre, the Villa Beretta rehabilitation clinic in Como, has now transferred Zanardi to the San Raffaele hospital in Milan after his clinical condition became "unstable".

The San Raffaele subsequently announced that Zanardi had arrived and doctors were conducting initial tests to verify his clinical state.

The day after his original transfer, Zanaradi's son, Niccolo talked to Corriere della Sera, telling the Italian newspaper that he remained confident.

"Dad will make it, I am sure," he said. "He will make it also this time... and one day we will talk about it. He will talk to me and also my (future) children. I am hopeful, and so is mum."

Needless to say, we all hope and pray that he is proven right.