Schumacher family sees 'small, encouraging signs'

''There sometimes are small, encouraging signs, but we also know that this is the time to be very patient," Michael Schumacher’s agent Sabine Kehm said.

In this file photo, Michael Schumacher announces his retirement from Formula One at the end of the 2012 season during a press conference at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan. Schumacher’s agent says there are small signs that the Formula One champion will wake from the coma he has been in for more than two months.The 45-year-old Schumacher suffered serious head injuries when he fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock in the French resort of Meribel on Dec. 29 2013. AP Photo

Michael Schumacher’s agent says there are small signs that the Formula One champion will wake from the coma he has been in for more than two months.

Still, Wednesday’s statement from Sabine Kehm tempered optimism with caution.

“We are and remain confident that Michael will pull through and will wake up. There sometimes are small, encouraging signs, but we also know that this is the time to be very patient,” Ms. Kehm said.

Schumacher was hospitalized with severe head injuries after a ski crash last December . His family has released few details about his condition. Doctors operated to remove blood clots from his brain, but some were too deeply embedded. Neurologists not involved in his treatment say full recovery appears increasingly unlikely, given the coma’s duration and the extent of his injuries.