Massa may leave hospital within 10 days, says doctor

Injured Formula One driver Felipe Massa is recovering well and could walk out of a Budapest hospital within 10 days, his doctor said on Tuesday.

"My expectation is that he would walk out of the hospital on his own," Peter Bazso, the medical director of the AEK hospital, told public television M1 on Tuesday.

"If his recovery continues at this pace, I wouldn't rule out that he could leave within 10 days."

Brazilian Massa fractured his skull in an accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday when he was hit just above his left eye by a bouncing spring, weighing almost a kilo, that broke free from compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car.

"He's spending more and more time awake, talking to family and friends," Bazso said, adding that they could begin "mobilising him" within a few days.

Doctors brought Massa, last year's championship runner-up, out of an artificial coma on Monday and also took him off a respirator.

"I would like to point out that although he's recovering, this is not the end of the story, he is still in a life-threatening condition," Bazso said.

"Of course, the danger is decreasing by the day."

Bazso said it was too early to predict whether Massa had suffered any lasting damage.

Ferrari officials, including team boss Stefano Domenicali, are expected to visit Massa on Tuesday.