Martina Cox, wife of Liverpool supporter Sean Cox, has delivered an update on her husband's rehabilitation.
Sean Cox was viciously attacked outside Anfield before a Champions League semi-final against Roma in April and has been recovering in hospital since.
The 53-year-old from Dunboyne in Co. Meath sustained serious head injuries in the assault and required brain surgery which, had he been older, would not have been available to him.
"He is making progress, it’s small steps of progress," Martina said on RTE’s Late Late Show.
https://twitter.com/RTELateLateShow/status/1055954800620105728
"He has a limited amount of words, very small amount, he can’t sit up. He can’t walk so it’s pretty horrendous really still, but he is making progress and it is small steps so we take every step as a positive because that is what we do when you are in this situation."
Roma fan Filippo Lombardi was jailed for three years for violent disorder but was cleared of the charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Cox is currently recovering at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire.
"We communicate with him," Martina Cox continued. "He can say yes and no and do the thumbs up. He smiles, we talk to him, we know he recognises us."
Liverpool manager
Jurgen Klopp, as well as Republic of Ireland internationals David Meyler and Seamus Coleman, recently made sizeable donations to a
GoFundMe page set up for Cox while Jamie Carragher could be seen outside Anfield on Saturday afternoon with a collection bucket.
https://twitter.com/Carra23/status/1056166263507116032
