South African cricketer Mondli Khumalo out of coma after being attacked at UK pub

South African cricketer Mondli Khumalo, who was assaulted on May 29 outside a pub in Bridgwater, is out of a coma and is making “great progress”. Khumalo plays for North Petherton Cricket Club in Somerset. He represented South Africa in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup and also has a contract with KwaZulu Natal Inland. 

The 20-year-old is an overseas professional at North Petherton. He was out celebrating a team victory before he was attacked early in the morning outside Dragon Rise Pub in Bridgwater. Khumalo suffered a major blow to his skull and underwent three operations, including one for the removal of a blood clot from his brain. His North Petherton teammate Lloyd Irish updated that he was taken out of a coma and that he was doing “great”.

“Mondli was doing great yesterday and they took him out of a coma. He has shown great strength,” said Irish. “He is asking for his Mum, watching some of the England v New Zealand Test and even wants to know when his next game is! We’ve seen great progress in the past 24 hours. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions; however, we seem to be heading in the right direction now.”

Meanwhile, the Avon and Somerset police arrested a 27-year-old, who was involved in the incident for assaulting Khumalo. The Superintendent said that they will update his family in South Africa about his health and the investigation of the incident.

“We’re taking steps to ensure Mondli’s family in South Africa are being kept fully updated on his condition, as well as how our investigation is progressing,” Superintendent Richard Turner said.

“A full investigation is underway and we’ve carried out house-to-house enquiries and are continuing to review CCTV footage from around the area to ensure we gather all available evidence. We know there were a large number of people in the area at the time and we’d appeal for any eyewitnesses to come forward, especially if anyone has mobile phone footage showing any part of this incident,” he added.