The brother of Sean Cox has spoken for the first time since he returned home for good for the first time in nearly two years.
The dad-of-three had travelled from Ireland with brother Martin to watch Liverpool ’s Champions League semi-final first-leg against Roma in May 2018 when he was subjected to an unprovoked attack by fans of the Italian side outside the Kop stand.
Simone Mastrelli was jailed for three-and-a-half years for the incident which left Sean in a coma.
Sean was left with serious brain injuries and has needed extensive rehabilitation since the assault, as well as requiring further ongoing care from his wife and family.
After treatment at the Walton Centre in Liverpool, Sean was transferred to a Dublin hospital and has been receiving care in a number of medical institutions in Ireland and England.
But now, almost two years after the attack, Sean has returned to his family home for the first time.
“We are absolutely thrilled,” his brother Martin told talkSPORT on Monday afternoon. “It has been a long journey, nearly two years, but we have got him home to where he belongs. We are in a very good place at the moment.”
Although Sean’s family were all overjoyed to have him back home, any potential celebrations have been put on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“It was great but it was quite quiet to be honest with you,” Martin added. “Obviously with the circumstances around the globe at the minute, Sean, given his condition, would be quite vulnerable.
“At the moment it is a total lockdown in his house, with Martina, his kids and the care workers. It was just a small gathering and we have put the party on hold for now.”
Although home and back with his family, Martin believes his brother, who met Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp when he returned to Anfield in November 2019 for the first time, still has a long road ahead of him.
“The problem Sean has faced from the very start has remained,” he added. “His speech and his mobility has very much remained the same.
“But the thing that astounds me is Sean's sense of humour and good form. He's never lost that.
"He's getting a little bit of self independence back which is great to see.”
Before Martin concluded: “There are a couple of words there. The speech therapists are great, they work with him all the time.
“He can say a couple of little things but in other ways he can communicate with us. If he really wants something he can get his point across.
“Look, we continue to work on that with him, but it is the biggest barrier there...and his mobility.
“But there is a great team of workers there who work on Sean every day, so they are gradually getting little things.
“It is such a long, long road and it is baby steps all the time. There is a couple of words but no sentences yet, but like I say, if he needs something in other ways of communication he can get his point across.”
