Recovering rapidly from an assault that left him with life-threatening injuries, New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder is now “back on his feet” but is disappointed to miss out on his Indian Premier League (IPL) stint this year.
The 28-year-old, who had a fractured skull and a punctured lung after being brutally beaten outside a Christchurch bar here last Thursday, was brought out of induced coma on Saturday and shifted out of the ICU on Sunday.
The temperamental cricketer is now able to move a little inside his hospital room, according to his manager Aaron Klee.
“Nothing’s changed medically in terms of official updates, but he’s just steadily improving and building up his strength.
Remarkable
“So it’s just resting time from here on, but you know, it’s quite a remarkable improvement from 48 hours ago,” he told reporters at Wellington airport.
“He’s absolutely talking, sitting there having conversations and he’s up on his feet, it’s nice to see the big guy back on his feet again.”
The hard-hitting batsman was to leave for the IPL on Friday last week to play for Delhi Daredevils.
Klee said Ryder “was very excited about the IPL. He saw it as a great opportunity to get back on the world stage and do what he does best.”
In March last year, Ryder had taken a break from international cricket due to his alcohol problem which had landed him in trouble previously as well.
