Former junior Proteas and KwaZulu-Natal Inland cricketer Mondli Khumalo, who was brutally attacked in England, was moved out of the intensive care unit (ICU) on Wednesday as he continues to recover in hospital.

Khumalo, 20, has been in Southmead Hospital in Bristol for almost three weeks after he was assaulted at a taxi rank in the UK.

The talented fast bowler was in the UK playing on a short-term contract with North Petherton Cricket Club in the SA domestic off-season.

Khumalo needed three brain operations and his uncle Sakhelephi Khumalo said he was making a rapid recovery.  

“Mondli has been moved to a new ward, so he's out of ICU and he has been busy with physio and taking walks. He's really trying a lot and slowly catching his balance as he's been trying to even stand on one leg,” Sakhelephi Khumalo said.

He is in Bristol with Mondli’s mother Sibongile Khumalo to support the cricketer.

He said Mondli had been trying to remember why he was attacked and what led to the incident. He doesn’t remember anything.

“He had police officers came to speak to him and told him they were questioning someone about the incident. He wants justice because this almost ended his career,” Sakhelephi Khumalo said.

While the reason for the attack remains a mystery, a 27-year-old man was arrested and released after the attack.

Khumalo is unlikely to play cricket in the coming season, but doctors are confident he will be back on the field in the 2023-2024 campaign.

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