While young SA cricketer Mondli Khumalo’s health condition has vastly improved, it is still not clear if the talented bowler will be able to play sport again.
Khumalo, 20, has regained consciousness and can talk after he slipped into a coma following a vicious attack that left him with serious head injuries last Sunday morning.
Khumalo, who is contracted to KwaZulu-Natal Inland Cricket Union, has undergone three critical brain surgeries as doctors fought to save his life at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, England.
He was in the UK after accepting a short-term contract to play for North Petherton Cricket Club in the SA domestic off-season.
The reason for the attack on Khumalo is still unknown but it reportedly happened outside a pub in Bridgewater where he had gone to celebrate with teammates after a match.
According to reports, a 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm to the cricketer, who is the main provider for his family in Umlazi, Durban.
KZN Inland CEO Jason Sathiaseelan and Khumalo’s mother Sibongile Ncane Khumalo have confirmed the player is now conscious.
Sathiaseelan said while the doctors are positive, they also said it was too early to say whether the youngster’s cricket career is over.
“A neurologist said they will need him to recover a little bit more in order for them to be able to tell,” Sathiaseelan said.
“With brain injuries it’s a possibility that one might not be their usual self again, but that’s not our focus right now. We just want Mondli to recover first and come home and we will deal with the rest later.
“But the doctors are positive because of the fact that Mondli is still very young, that will aid his recovery. The main focus for everyone at the moment should be that he survives and comes back to be with his family.”
Head injuries have ended the careers of sport stars after they failed to fully recover.
Khumalo’s agent Rob Humphreys, who has been with him in the UK, said: “Every head injury is different. He might suffer no long-term effect and he might have quite long severe effects. We just don’t know the answers to that until he is fully conscious and able to communicate effectively.
We are really hoping that he is going to recover and go back to playing cricket because he loves it with all his heart
— Mondli Khumalo's mother Sibongile
“We won’t know what the long-term outlook is like for a bit of time yet.”
Khumalo’s mother Sibongile said the doctors were positive her son would be back to normal once he has fully recovered.
“They told us that he is trying to talk now, we are really happy and hopeful that the worst is over now,” she said.
“We are really hoping that he is going to recover and go back to playing cricket because he loves it with all his heart. And I’ve been told the doctors said there are good chances he is going to play again.”
She and her brother Sakhelephi were supposed to leave for the UK on Friday to be with Khumalo, who apparently asked for his mother after he woke up. But their trip was delayed after issues with home affairs relating to travel documents.
KZN Inland, Cricket SA (CSA) and the KZN department of sport did their best to fast-track the process, but the attempts failed.
Sibongile revealed how her son had become the family’s provider. “He is the one who is looking after us now. He knew that whenever he got money he had to buy us groceries — and he was building us a house.”
His English club, North Petherton, and his alma mater Maritzburg College have started crowdfunding campaigns to help the Khumalos.
North Petherton has raised £22,259 (R432,000) with 22 days left to reach their £500,000 (R9.7m) target, while CSA and the sport department have pledged to help.
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