Recuperating fan invited to dine with Spireites players

Dedicated Spireites fan Nial Brunt, who is recovering after an incident which left him requiring two operations, was invited to have lunch with the players on Friday.

Nial, 18, required emergency treatment after the incident five weeks ago, which also left his mother seriously injured.

Nial’s father Glen, who accompanied him at the Proact, explained:-

“He was taken to the Northern General Hospital and then transferred to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, where he had two separate operations.

“He had a shunt as a baby – which is a bleed in the brain where the fluid can’t escape – and he had to have a bypass put in place so it can be moved. However, this was damaged in the attack.

“He had a big operation to take it out and stitch his head together with around 200 stitches. They wanted to see how he would go on without the shunt but it didn’t work out.”

After dining with the players, Nial was presented with a home shirt by Ian Evatt, who said:-

“I was so sorry to hear what Nial had gone through and wanted him to have a memorable experience because I know how much the club means to him. I hope that Nial and his mum both soon make a full recovery.”

Nial attends Ashgate Croft School with his twin brother Reece and they will be going to Chesterfield College this year.

Glen, who has a season ticket with his family in the East Stand, added:-

“We are alright and we are still smiling. Nial has loved meeting the players and management and we really appreciate the invitation.

“We’ve been a bit occupied so we’ve had some catching up to do in terms of finding out about the new players.

“We are hoping to attend at least one of the pre-season matches this coming week.”

Club officials send their very best wishes to the Brunt family and look forward to seeing them at the Proact this season.