Michael Schumacher is showing “small, encouraging signs” and his family remains hopeful he will “pull through and will wake up”, according to a statement released on Wednesday morning.

Schumacher has now spent approximately 11 weeks in a coma following a skiing accident on December 29 having undergone two operations to remove blood clots from his brain.

The 45-year-old remains in a waking-up process at the University of Grenoble hospital in France.

The statement, made by his agent on behalf of his family, read, “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.