Sir Alex Ferguson is out of a coma and talking to friends and family at his bedside at the Salford Royal Hospital as he begins his recovery from a brain haemorrhage.

Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager, was admitted to the hospital on Saturday for emergency surgery.

British football’s most successful manager remains in intensive care, but the early signs of his recovery are positive.

United released a statement today which read: “There are no further updates on Sir Alex at this time” before pleading for the Scot to be given privacy. It is understood that Ferguson has been speaking to visitors to his bedside.

United’s initial statement on their former manager, issued on Saturday, said that surgery had gone “very well”. It added: “We…