SOUTH African cricketer Mondli Khumalo remains in a coma but in a stable condition after his third surgery overnight at Southmead Hospital.

Sources from close to Mondli have told the Bridgwater Mercury that the surgery was to remove a bloodclot from his brain which had seemingly caused high blood pressure.

Our source said: "Mondli had a third operation yesterday but is stable again now, he is still in a coma though.

"It is better news, but we are hoping he can pull through this to see how much he is loved."

Yesterday, Heinrich Strydom, CEO of KZN Cricket Union in South Africa told the Bridgwater Mercury: "Everyone over here in South Africa has been a big help in getting this sorted as quickly as possible.

"As you can imagine, it has been an extremely difficult time for Mondli's mum and she is understandably very distressed, we all just want Mondli to recover.

"Hopefully next week they will get their Visa and can then travel to the UK, we are hoping the Visa will be fast tracked.

"Mondli's mother and his uncle will travel together, most likely they will fly out of Durban," he said.

The North Petherton cricketer was attacked during the early hours of Sunday morning (May 29) near the Dragon Rise Pub in Bridgwater on Friarn Street.

A 27-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm however has been released under investigation.

Supt Richard Turner from Avon and Somerset Police said: “We’re investigating a serious assault on 20-year-old Mondli Khumalo, who remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital after undergoing emergency treatment.

“A full investigation is under way 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."

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