Olympian Jack Woolley out of hospital after undergoing facial surgery

The Taekwondo star was badly injured after he was attacked in Dublin city centre on Friday night and needed surgery at St James’s Hospital.

Jack (22) told his followers that he was coming home from dinner with his friends along the River Liffey when a gang attacked him.

He said that he was “punched in the face” before being told “my mistake. wrong person” as the gang ran off.

Jack was rushed to hospital shortly afterwards where he underwent reconstructive facial surgery.

Jack, who represented Ireland in Taekwondo for the first time ever at the Tokyo Olympics last month, thanked his followers for all their support and explained that he wanted to “raise some awareness” about this incident.

Speaking on his Instagram Stories on Sunday, the athlete said: “So, bear with me because since the operation, it’s been harder to talk. I think there’s more swelling so if you can’t understand me, sorry.

“I’m home and all now. I’m just gonna get some food into me and rest up, watch a bit of Love Island that I need to catch up on and we’ll be all sorted.”

In a separate video, the Tallaght native added: “I am home and well. Apologies if you can't understand me because the swelling after surgery is a little bit worse than it was before.

“If anything, I actually think it made my face a little bit more symmetrical but hopefully I don't look as bad on the opposite side,” he joked.

“Don't worry about me, I will be alright. I just wanted to raise some awareness about what happened, I am not looking for people's sympathy, like. That is not why I posted or anything.

“I have thousands and thousands of message requests I am not able to get to right now. To be honest, I actually don’t know if I will get around to it but it all doesn't go unnoticed, all of the support and I want to say thank you to everyone.”