Michael Schumacher has been in a coma for 11 weeks following his skiing accident but is apparently showing “small, encouraging signs.” A new statement has been released by his agent, Sabine Kehm, on behalf of the family and it is hopeful that the F1 champion will recover. It reads: “We are, and remain, confident Michael will pull through and will wake up... There sometimes are small, encouraging signs, but we also know this is the time to be very patient. “Michael has suffered severe injuries. It is very hard to comprehend for all of us that Michael, who had overcome a lot of precarious situations in the past, has been hurt so terribly in such a banal situation. “It was clear from the start this will be a long and hard fight for Michael, and we are taking this fight on together with the team of doctors, whom we fully trust.” She added: “It is heart-warming to see how much sympathy his family is shown and I can say the family is extremely grateful for it. However, it should not be forgotten Michael’s family is dealing with an extremely intimate and fragile situation. “I would like to remind all of us Michael has always actively kept his family out of the public eye and consequently protects their private lives. We try to channel all the energies we have toward Michael and we firmly believe this will help him, and we believe he will also win this fight.” Schumacher was placed in an induced coma after undergoing two operations to remove blood clots from his brain. He remains in a waking-up process at the University of Grenoble Hospital in France.