Michael Schumacher faces a "long fight" for recovery as the first anniversary of his skiing accident approaches, the former Formula One driver's manager said on Sunday. "We need a long time. It's going to be a long time and a hard fight," Sabine Kehm said. "He is making progress appropriate to the severity of the situation," she added, reiterating a statement she made a month ago. Schumacher suffered severe head injuries in a ski accident in Meribel in the French Alps on Dec. 29 2013. He emerged from an induced coma in June, and left hospital in September. In an interview with Le Parisien on Sunday, Philippe Streiff, another former F1 driver, said Schumacher "had yet to recover the power of speech" but was "nevertheless starting to recognise those close to him".