A CWMBRAN man is recovering from a fall on a football tour in Latvia which left him in a coma with a significant brain injury.

Tom Wise, of Ty Canol, was in Riga with his teammates from Panteg AFC when he suffered the accident and ended up fighting for his life.

The 26-year-old is now back in Wales, with friends and family already raising more than £4,500 for him on a crowdfunding page.

Doctor’s say they are confident he will recover but have told him it is likely his football days are over.

Mr Wise’s brother-in-law, Peter Page, who was him in Latvia, said: “We were over in Riga on the football tour when Tom fell down a flight of stairs.

“It was pitch black and at the time, he was only with one other guy from the team.

“There are a lot of hospitals in Riga so it made it hard to find where Tom was initially.”

Mr Wise’s family and girlfriend flew over to Latvia following the accident, before he was repatriated back to Wales, first to the Royal Gwent Hospital and then to Rookwood Hospital in Cardiff, where he remains.

Mr page, 31, added: “We started a JustGiving Page for Tom, which has just ended, and that has managed to raise over £4,500 for him.

“We weren’t sure the extent of his injuries at the time, which is why we started the page. The doctors are confident that he will be able to return to work but it is unlikely that he will play sport again.”

Mr Wise’s teammates from Panteg have now decided to organise further fundraisers to help him, starting tomorrow.

“We will be doing a 12-hour-long continuous row at The Gym in Newport,” said Mr Page, 31.

“Twelve of us, doing one hour each, will be taking part, before we hold a 10k run in Magor the following week.

“After that, we will be cycling from Chepstow to Swansea, again to raise what we can for Tom.

“It isn’t the amount of money that is important to us. We just want to show Tom and all those around him that we are still behind him, even if he can’t play alongside us again.”