UPDATE: Pretoria man out of ICU after nightclub assault
Louis Pienaar was in a coma after knocked unconscious at a Pretoria nightclub.
A man allegedly assaulted by a Blue Bulls rugby player in Pretoria nightclub last month is no longer in intensive care.
Louis Pienaar’s father Pine confirmed on Friday his son was recovering well after being in intensive care unit (ICU) for more than two weeks.
“He’s awake now and talking. Although he’s still recovering in hospital, the family is grateful that he’s out of ICU.”
ALSO READ: Man in coma after assault in east nightclub
Louis (38) was knocked out cold in an assault at Madison Avenue nightclub in Die Wilgers, east of Pretoria, on 11 November.
Pienaar earlier said the assailant was a Blue Bulls rugby player.
“My son and his cousin were on the dance floor (at Madison Avenue) when they bumped into a bunch of Blue Bulls players,” he said.
“There was an exchange of words, which initially saw my son and his cousin leave the nightclub.
“While minding his own business at the club parking lot, the same group approached and beat my son to the ground.”
Louis was with his cousin Christian Cronjé at the time of the assault took place.
“Louis and I were dancing when we saw a group of guys on the dance floor. As we were staring at them, they asked what we were looking at,” Cronje told Rekord.
ALSO READ: Young east man allegedly assaulted by police
“I could see that they wanted to start a fight, so I told my friend we must go home. The guys threatened to beat us. As Louis left the club, I had an exchange of words with one of them trying to defuse the situation.”
Cronje said a Bulls player assaulted Louis in the parking area.
“When I went out, I found that he had been knocked out cold. The guys did not check up on him, instead, they fled the scene,” Cronje said.
“I managed to drive him to the nearest hospital.”
Blue Bulls CEO Barend van Graan could not confirm whether one of their players was involved in the assault.
“No comment from us at this stage, what we can say is we feel for the family (Pienaar) and we wish the victim a speedy recovery.”
Garsfontein police spokesperson Captain Ilze Jones confirmed an assault docket had been opened.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Pretoria man ‘doing well’ after nightclub assault
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