Michael Schumacher health condition latest news: F1 champ making a 'very slow recovery'

Seven-time Formula One racing champion Michael Schumacher faces a long road to recovery after suffering massive head injuries in a skiing accident more than a year ago.

Although official updates on the racing driver's health condition remain scarce, Alberto Sabbatini, editor-in-chief of Italian magazine Autosprint, said he received "reliable and verified information" that Schumacher is making a "very slow recovery."

Citing information from individuals who have seen the racing champion recently, Sabbatini said Schumacher "is not stuck in bed" and "sits in a chair in front of the windows of his villa" when not undergoing physical therapy to avoid muscle atrophy.

According to a report published on motorsport.com, Sabbatini also described the retired German racing driver as a "prisoner of an immobile body."

In December 2013, Schumacher suffered a fall and smashed his head on a rock while skiing at the French resort of Meribel. The athlete suffered a traumatic brain injury, although he was wearing a safety helmet at the time of the accidnet.

Schumacher was in a coma until June last year. He was released from the hospital and was brought back to his home last year, where he is being further rehabilitated.

A separate report published on The International Business Times said Schumacher is already responding to external stimuli, but is still unable to speak or move.

Citing Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra, British daily The Telegraph reported that Schumacher is already "capable of demonstrating emotion through tears."

Schumacher is also supposedly communicating through his eyes, and cries when he hears the voices of his wife and his children.