After a terrifying ordeal, Mondli Khumalo is expected to return to professional cricket in less than a year.

Mondli Khumalo, a former South Africa Under-19 bowler, was the victim of an incident in 2022 that caused major brain bleeding. After the event, it was believed that Khumalo’s cricketing career was over, but after almost a year of fighting and suffering through pain, he is ready to make a comeback. The cricketer will currently sign up with the North Patherton Cricket Club in Somerset and will be looking to impress in order to land a deal in South Africa for the upcoming season.

A neurosurgeon has already given him the go-ahead to resume his duties in the field. Khumalo’s agent, Rob Humphries, said that he hoped to play during the current English summer.

“Getting game experience under his belt in the UK is a crucial component of his preparation for the upcoming summer in South Africa. He is eager to return to the field, according to Humphries, who spoke to ESPNcricinfo.

Notably, the 21-year-old has not played since May 2022, when he was attacked outside an English pub in Bristol while celebrating his team’s victory. He was found unconscious at the site and later received emergency medical care, necessitating the induction of a four-day-induced coma. He had to undergo four significant surgeries in the interim. Three of them included relieving pressure on the brain, while the fourth involved replacing a portion of the skull that had already been removed for earlier procedures.

A fundraising initiative was started in the interim to cover his medical costs and fly his family from South Africa to England. Mondli Khumalo was committed to going back to cricket after regaining his moral clarity. His teammate Llyod Irish released a video of him catching a sponge ball 10 days after the procedure, and ever since then, he has been undergoing therapy to prepare for his comeback. However, a 27-year-old man has been detained in connection with the arrest of Khumalo, whose trial is scheduled to start in October.