It said: “Sometimes a tear rolls down Michael’s face. He cries when he hears
the voice of his children or his wife.
“Michael has his eyes open but he is often looking into a void. In recent
times he has been able to recognise the familiar faces of his family but he
cannot communicate with them.
“He does not speak and he is not able to perform movements independently. He
reacts to external stimuli but for now can only answer a familiar voice by
opening his eyes.”
A separate report in the magazine Autosprint said Schumacher was able
to sit up.
Editor-in-chief Alberto Sabbatini, who said his information was provided by
“those who know and see him”, said: “The good news is that Michael is not
stuck in a bed. When not undergoing physical therapy to avoid muscle
atrophy, he sits in a chair in front of the windows of his villa,
overlooking on one side the snowy peaks of the Swiss Alps, and on the other
the shores of Lake Geneva.”
Schumacher suffered severe head injuries after striking a rock whilst skiing
off piste with his son Mick at the French resort of Meribel.
He had two brain operations at a hospital in Greenoble before being moved to
hospital in Lausanne last June.
In September, his manager Sabine Kehm said: “Considering the severe head
injuries he suffered, progress has been made in the past weeks and months.
There is still, however, a long and difficult road ahead.”
A surgeon who has treated Schumacher said in October the German would need
years to recover fully.