Ozzy Osbourne [ tickets ], who had been on a ventilator to assist his breathing since he suffered serious injuries in an all-terrain vehicle accident last week, is now breathing on his own and speaking, according to hospital officials.

"Mr. Osbourne has had a comfortable night and is responding well to treatment," said a brief statement issued on Monday (12/15) by Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, England. "He is now breathing independently and has been speaking to [wife Sharon Osbourne] this morning."

Osbourne suffered eight broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a cracked vertebra in his neck in a Dec. 8 accident, which occurred while he was riding an ATV on his property in Buckinghamshire, England.

During emergency surgery that same day, doctors restored circulation to Osbourne's left arm, which was damaged by pressure from his broken collarbone. He was slowly weaned from the ventilator over the last week.

In an interview published on Friday by London's Daily Mirror tabloid, Sharon Osbourne was quoted as saying that Ozzy stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating after the crash. She said a security guard who was with him at the time of the accident revived him.

Ozzy can celebrate some good news while in recovery: "Changes," his duet with daughter Kelly Osbourne [ tickets ], debuted atop this week's U.K. pop-singles chart.