John Mitchell back at work after being stabbed

Golden Lions coach John Mitchell was stabbed during a robbery in his apartment on the weekend, police said, but he returned to work on Monday after treatment for minor injuries.

Two men broke into a Johannesburg apartment Mitchell was sharing with fellow New Zealander Wayne Taylor on Saturday night, and one of them stabbed the 46-year-old coach during a struggle, police spokesperson Moses Maphakela said.

Mitchell at first thought the attack was a prank and jumped on one of the assailants.

Taylor escaped through a bathroom window and alerted police when he heard the attackers demand money from Mitchell, Maphakela said.

“He is back at work now and he is okay,” Krystle Geach, spokesperson for the Golden Lions, told Agence France-Presse.

“He is having a few meetings in Johannesburg and wrapping up loose ends before going on leave on Wednesday.”

Mitchell limped and wore a plaster cast on his right arm when he arrived for work, according to local radio.

No further leads
The former New Zealand coach was admitted to a clinic with light stab wounds to his arm and thigh, but released on Sunday morning, said Geach.

The attackers fled with electronic equipment, but dumped the bigger equipment in their flight. Police took fingerprints from the house, but had no further leads, said Maphakela.

“This morning [Monday] we are still looking for the suspects.”

Lions president Kevin de Klerk expressed his horror at the attack on the club’s website.

“We have rallied around both John and Wayne during this terrible time and have placed them both in new accommodation for the time being while we find them new permanent residency,” he said.

Mitchell will return to his home in Perth, Australia, for a few days before his team restarts training in November, Geach said.—AFP