Michael Schumacher being brought out of induced coma, says manager

The seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is gradually being lifted out of his artificial coma, his management confirmed on Thursday.

A statement released by Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, said: "Michael's sedation is being reduced in order to allow the start of the waking-up process which may take a long time. For the protection of the family, it was originally agreed by the interested parties to communicate this information only once this process was consolidated."

Schumacher has been at a specialist clinic in Grenoble since hitting his head in a skiing accident at the Meribel resort in the French Alps more than a month ago. He was put into an artificial coma after two emergency operations to reduce the swelling caused by severe brain trauma.

Clinical staff have been regularly moving his legs and arms in order to stop his muscles from withering away. Doctors had until recently described his condition as "critical, but stable".

On Monday the medical team led by Emmanuel Gay had begun slowly to reduce Schumacher's sedation and conduct a series of neurological tests, according to French newspaper L'Equipe. The former racing driver had reportedly "responded positively" to the tests so far.

Schumacher's manager said the clinic had originally planned to handle the next stage of the treatment discreetly in order to protect Schumacher's family. But Kehm confirmed the latest development after the information was leaked to the French broadcaster Radio Monte Carlo on Wednesday.

The process of reducing sedation can take days or even weeks, depending on the strength of medication used. Whether Schumacher can fully recover from his injuries, however, is doubtful. He has stayed in a coma for a relatively long time, indicating severe swelling, probably relating to severe damage, said Peter Andrews, professor of intensive care at Edinburgh University, who is leading the world's largest trial of using hypothermia to reduce brain pressure.

In Britain patients with head injuries are usually kept in a coma for a week to ten days.

Andrews said he avoided the term "awaken" because it could trigger too high expectations among relatives. "I would expect Schumacher to survive," he said. "But we won't know his cognitive ability until at least three months after the injury."

Doctors will be slowly reducing the sedation over the next few days. If the pressure on the brain increases again, there is a possibility that Schumacher will be re-sedated. The worst-case scenario would be that the patient remains comatose without sedation. A more positive outcome would be a reactive state where the patient can lift a limb or obey basic commands.

"In his favour, we know he's relatively young, very fit and that he has had a period of consciousness since suffering the injury," said Peter Hutchinson, a professor of neurosurgery at Cambridge, who has met Schumacher through his role as medical officer at the British Grand Prix.

"But we have to be very open-minded. With an injury like this one, a full return to the previous state of health is unlikely. It would be very unusual if he doesn't retain some kind of disability"

Sebastian Vettel, the current F1 champion, said: "You pray, you wish, you hope that a miracle will happen and he will wake up as same person he was before."

Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda left a message on the website of Italian car manufacturers Ferrari, for whom Schumacher won five consecutive titles between 2000 and 2004: "Michael, I follow your development every day, and every day my thoughts are with you. I hope that I'll be able to talk to you again very soon."

Investigations by French public prosecutors in Albertville had shown that Schumacher had strayed about three to six metres into off-piste territory before his fall. Hitting a snow-covered rock, the 45-year-old had been catapulted forward and hit his head on another rock about 3.5 metres further down, his helmet splitting on impact.