Sean Cox’s wife details husband’s struggles following Anfield attack

Martina Cox, wife of Dunboyne man Sean Cox, has said that her husband is slowly improving from an attack that left him in a coma last April as he begins to eat and drink again.

Cox was left in a coma after he was brutally attacked in Liverpool before last season's Champions League semi-final with Roma. Roma fan Daniele Sciusco was jailed for violent disorder in August after the attack while Filippo Lombardi was cleared of assaulting Mr Cox but was later jailed after admitting violent disorder. Meanwhile Cox is currnetly recovering at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire and Martina has said that his condition is gradually improving.

"He's been supporting Liverpool all his life," Mrs Cox told the BBC. "Sean regularly went to matches with either his brother or family, it was a very natural thing for him to do. "It was a really familiar place for him. He would have felt quite safe there as well. Sean's started to drink as well but it's all very slow and measured because they're all very small, tiny little steps but it's good progress. "There are more words coming since he started to eat - that does help - but it's a very long, slow process and long journey for Sean. "They say you don't get back the same person and we know that."

Meanwhile Dublin football manager Jim Gavin and Meath counterpart Andy McEntee have both been very receptive to a challenge match between their respective sides in aide of Cox. Dublin will play Meath in a challenge match provisionally set for 1:30pm on December 16 with all proceeds going towards former Cox and his family. Cox was originally a member of Roundtowers, Gavin's local club in west Dublin, while Meath manager Andy McEntee is a member of Dunboyne, Cox's current club. Dunboyne have ran various events in support of Cox but thanked both managers as well as Dublin GAA and Meath GAA for their support around the game.

"We knew it was something that we thought would be a very important part of a fundraising campaign but also just an event that the GAA community could rally behind," Fergus McNulty, Dunboyne chairperson, told SportsJOE earlier this month. "Jim Gavin is from Roundtowers which is Sean's original club in Clondalkin, Andy McEntee is a Dunboyne member, so there's added symbolism there. "From that perspective we always had our eye on it but we wanted to wait until they were finished in the All-Ireland. "We've been in discussions for a while and everyone's been great. They all want to row in behind it so I think we'll have a pretty special event, hopefully the weather holds up so I think we're all geared up for that."

A GoFundMe page was established in October to attempt to raise €500,000 towards his medical costs and McNulty added that to continue his treatment funds will have to be raised privately.