Family told 'Only a miracle' can save Schumacher

Schumacher has been in a medically-induced coma for over two months following a skiing accident in Meribel shortly before New Year, with doctors at his hospital in Grenoble having started to awaken him in recent weeks by slowly reducing the levels of his medication.

The latest official statement from his manager, Sabine Kehm, was that, "Michael is still in a wake up phase, the situation has not altered."

But a report in the Daily Telegraph, citing a senior German journalist who has been covering Schumacher's accident, claims that the situation is far bleaker than doctors have reported - and that the driver's family have been told to brace themselves for the worst.

"The family has been told that only a miracle can bring him back now," the journalist said.

"He is in a bad way but until the family issues a formal statement, we cannot publish anything."

A second source confirmed the story: "Doctors have given it to them straight. Miracles sometimes happen but there is little hope that he will come out of this."

Brain injury experts have long cautioned against hoping for a recovery from the start and throughout, with many warning that the 45-year-old faces a very difficult struggle even if he does emerge from the coma.

Other experts have explained that they fear the worst due to the longevity of the coma, since patients are generally kept in artificial comas for three to four weeks. Dr Tipu Aziz of Oxford University said last week that, "The fact that he hasn't woken up implies that the injury has been extremely severe and that a full recovery is improbable… If you don't start getting any positive signs, that becomes very worrisome."