It will still be a "long fight for recovery" for injured racer Michael Schumacher who remains in a vulnerable and fragile state a year after his horrific accident.

This was the latest statement of Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm which casted doubt on a recent report that the racer can already recognize people close to him.

"We need a long time. It's going to be a long time and a hard fight. He is making progress appropriate to the severity of the situation," Kehm was quoted by The Guardian as saying.

It can be remembered that Schumacher suffered serious head injuries when he hit a rock during a ski vacation at the French Alps last year. He was placed under induced coma and only awakened in June. He has made slow progress since then. The media has not received timely updates about Schumacher as his family and doctors wanted to keep details about his condition private.

Fellow F1 driver Philippe Streiff, according to The Guardian, earlier noted that Schumacher has yet to recover his ability to speak but said that he can already recognize people close to him. The news brought a renewed hope in so many people, especially the injured racer's fans who have been waiting for a positive news regarding his recovery.

A similar Mirror report said that the 59-year-old Streiff, who identified himself as someone close to Schumacher, said that he got the informarion from the injured racer's wife and surgeon.

Kehm however denied Streiff's statement. "I do not know where Mr Streiff has got his information. He has no contact with us and he never has."

She also told Reuters, that Streiff was not a friend of the injured racer, adding that his claimed contact with the two persons he mentioned were "factually wrong."

"I cannot confirm that [report]. I can only confirm that I do not know where Streiff has his information from because he has no contact with us and he never has," the manager added. 

On Monday is the first anniversary of Schumacher's ski accident, Mirror added.

The 46-year-old seven-time Formula One champion reportedly had very limited movement and is hoping that he could still talk and walk one day with the aid of crutches. 

His entire family is hopeful that he will still be able to rise above this adversity in his life though they continue to refuse to discuss the matter publicly. It has been known that Schumacher's wife has stayed beside him since day one and has never left his side.