MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. Roman Kostomarov, Russia’s 2006 Winter Olympics champion in figure skating ice dance, who entered the hospital in January for pneumonia, will remain in the intensive care unit (ICU) for another two or three months, a source close to the situation told TASS on Friday.

"He will still be in the intensive care unit, for at least two or three months, but that does not mean that the situation is critical," the source said.

"He is fully conscious and getting better every day. Preparations are underway for prosthetics surgery, but it is quite a complicated story," the source added.

According to reports earlier this year, Kostomarov was rushed to the ICU at Moscow’s Kommunarka Hospital on January 10 for treatment of a lung inflammation. TASS sources reported later that the skater was in critical condition and was put on life support.

Kostomarov was initially connected to an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) life support machine. He was then taken off of the ECMO machine on January 24, but was still facing the threat of sepsis and problems with blood circulation.

Sources close to the situation, cited by TASS, reported in early February that both of his feet had been amputated.

Russia’s Moskovsky Komsomolets daily reported later that Kostomarov underwent another surgical operation during which all of the fingers on his left hand had to be amputated.

Kostomarov, 45, won a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, where he skated in a pair with Tatyana Navka in the ice dance competition.

The duo of Kostomarov and Navka also clinched two gold medals in the World Championships, took home three golds from the European championships, and another three golds plus the silver at the ISU Grand Prix Finals.