Her recovery is 'unlikely'. = It is 'unlikely' that she will recover. = She is 'unlikely' to recover.
In the 'unlikely event that' I win the lottery, I will pay off the mortgage.
It is 'unlikely' that the company will survive more than another year.
(..) and most of it never happened. Give me back my ring! Thank you! But that's what kind of story this is. His birth would set the pace for his unlikely life. No longer than most men's, but larger. And as strange as his stories got... ...the endings were always the most surprising of all. (..)2003 Big Fish