SA cricketer, assaulted in England, out of coma

TIL Desk Sports/ Mondli Khumalo, the 20-year-old South African cricketer who was assaulted outside a pub in Somerset in the early hours on June 29 (Sunday morning), is out of coma, a report said on Saturday.

Khumalo, who plays as an overseas professional for North Petherton Cricket Club in Somerset, remained in medically-induced coma for six days and underwent three surgeries at Southmead Hospital.

Khumalo had also represented South Africa at the 2020 Under-19 World Cup. The report added that “Khumalo has been taken out of a medically-induced coma and is making great progress.”

The cricketer, who is contracted to Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland back home, was assaulted while he was celebrating North Petherton Cricket Club’s win near the Dragon Rise Pub in Bridgwater.

He suffered a fractured skull and had to undergo three surgeries, the last one to remove a blood clot. Khumalo’s North Petherton teammate Lloyd Irish was quoted as saying in The Cricketer that the player’s condition is stable.