Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was seriously assaulted in Manchester City Centre.
Police were called shortly before 2:40am to Whitworth Street West, Manchester to reports that a man had been seriously assaulted.
Officers attended and found a 24-year-old man with serious head injuries who was then taken to hospital where he had to undergo emergency surgery and is now in a critical condition.
The assault is believed to have taken place sometime between 2:20am and 2:30am on the junction of Great Marlborough Street and New Wakefield Street, close to The Ritz nightclub.
It is believed that one or two people have assaulted the victim before joining two other friends, who are now being considered as potential witnesses, and leaving the area.
So far it has been established that the victim had been to The Ritz nightclub with friends and was involved in a minor disagreement with a group of five men before leaving some time later.
It is not known if this group of men were involved in the assault.
CCTV enquiries in the area are on-going but police are also appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Detective Inspector Mark Tootill said: “We are still trying to establish what exactly happened to this poor young man who remains in a critical condition in hospital after having major emergency surgery.
“It will likely be a few days before we know the full extent of his injuries but in the meantime we will be conducting extensive CCTV searches to find those responsible and I would like to urge those who may have had some involvement to come forward and give their account.
“Saturday night going into Sunday morning is a very busy time in the City Centre due to the vibrant nightlife in Manchester so it is possible that there may have been a number of witnesses to what can only be described as a brutal assault.
“We believe that the victim had been on a night out with friends at The Ritz nightclub before being involved in a minor confrontation with a group of five men although it is not clear if they had any involvement in the attack.
“If anybody has any information then I would like to urge them to please contact the police.”
Anybody with information should contact the GMP City Centre team on 0161 856 3221 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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