Schumacher pulls out of coma

Ferrari, Alonso hail news

(ANSA) - Rome, June 16 - Formula One great Michael Schumacher is out of his coma and is getting ready to leave the hospital in Grenoble, France, his family's spokesperson said in a statement Monday. Some unconfirmed media reports, notably in German daily Bild, said he was lucid and even talking to his family.

The former Ferrari driver and seven-time champion, who has been in a drug-induced coma since suffering a serious brain injury in a French Alps skiing accident last December, "is now beginning his long rehabilitation," said spokesperson Sabine Kehm. The statement did not reveal where rehab would take place, nor give further health details. Kehm said the family "wants privacy for this tough rehab process".

The news brought an enthusiastic response from fans who had all but given up hope their hero would get better. “Go Schumi go, we never believed what they were saying," said Gerhard from Duesseldorf in a blog post. "You've proved the doubters wrong again," said Mario on his Facebook page. News of Schumacher's progress was also hailed, but in a seemingly more muted and cautious vein, by Ferrari and its top driver Fernando Alonso.

"Good start to the week with Michael's news," tweeted the Spanish driver under the hashtag #KeepFightingMichael. "I am very happy that things are going in the right direction," Alonso said Ferrari said, on its homepage: "Michael Schumacher's emerging from a coma is encouraging news that gives us hope". An Italian expert on comas said Schumacher's recovery of consciousness shows that he was not in an irreversible coma but it is too early to predict his future state of health.