A MAN in his mid-20s remained critically ill in hospital last night after he was found with head injuries in a Co Tyrone town at the weekend.
Joe Hurl, from Ballinderry, underwent surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast on Tuesday afternoon following a suspected assault in Cookstown at the weekend.
A spokesman for the Belfast trust said yesterday he remained in a critical condition.
Mr Hurl was taken to hospital after he was found on Chapel Street in Cookstown shortly after 2am on Sunday.
Police have said they are investigating the "circumstances surrounding this incident".
A 30-year-old man was arrested by police investigating the assault. He was later released on bail pending further enquiries.
Mr Hurl was a former youth player with Ballinderry Shamrocks.
A spokesman for the club has described Mr Hurl as a "staunch supporter".
He said on Tuesday that the club's "thoughts and prayers are very much with the Hurl family in these very trying times".
In 2009, Ballinderry player Conor McCusker (31) died after suffering a head injury when he was pushed to the ground outside a nightclub in Cookstown.
The club was also hit by tragedy in 2015 when player Aaron Devlin died after being struck down with an aggressive form of meningitis.
