WELLINGTON, New Zealand, March 28 (UPI) -- Teammates of a New Zealand cricket player who was severely beaten in an attack have been assured he does not have brain damage, officials say.
Jesse Ryder, a batsman for the Wellington Firebirds, was in critical condition with a fractured skull and a collapsed lung after he was attacked twice outside a bar, TVNZ report Thursday.
Ryder, 28, had just left a bar where he had been drinking with teammates Wednesday night when two or three men attacked him, police said.
A witness said several people pulled the attackers away from Ryder, who stumbled across the road where another man attacked him.
Police did not know whether the attack had been provoked.
No one has yet been arrested. Police said they are reviewing video from security cameras and have interviewed about 10 people.
Ryder was due to fly to India Friday to begin play with the Delhi Daredevils of the Indian Premier League.
