Ireland's Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games representative for Taekwondo has been hospitalised following an unprovoked "freak attack".
Jack Woolley had only recently returned to Ireland following the tournament, when he was enjoying some downtime with friends before his night turned sour.
The 22-year-old explained that he was attacked by a group of "random junkies" which has left him needing hospital treatment.
Woolley made history earlier this summer when he became the first ever competitor from Ireland to take part in Taekwondo at Olympic level, however his games ended in disappointment after he was convincingly beaten during his bout with Argentina’s Lucas Guzman.
Following that clash, Wolley conceded that he was "devastated" over his performance.
He added: "My legs went to jelly, something just didn’t click. I’m devastated, it’s tough to take and it will be.
"Some people have come here to participate at an Olympics, I came here to win."
"We had this game-plan and I went out and my legs went to jelly, t just didn’t go to plan — I’m usually a lot more aggressive, I don’t know, it’s just, something just didn’t click."
Woolley was enjoying a night out in Dublin last night drinking with friends, but it would not last particularly long before he was subjected to unprovoked violence.
The athlete was conscious and in good enough sprits to take to his Instagram account to update his fans with an image of him sat in an ambulance before another of him in a hospital gown.
Describing the attack, Woolley said: "So basically, I was crossing over the road and there was a load of people.
"And they just punched me in the mouth."
In the same clip, Woolley claimed the perpetrators were "random junkies", before he was greeted by a member of hospital staff.
The athlete also explained how he required plastic surgery as a result of the attack, "I have these temporary stitches in and I have to have plastic surgery at 7, but yeah, I’m alright."
