Nick Blackwell still unable to walk after sparring injury

Former boxing champion Nick Blackwell is still unable to walk after suffering a serious head injury in a sparring session last year.

The 26-year-old got back in the ring in November, months after suffering a catastrophic head injury in a fight against Chris Eubank Jnr, which left him in a medically-induced coma.

The injury he sustained in the sparing session again left the former British middleweight champ in a coma and it now emerges he could still be a year away from making a full recovery.

A family member of Blackwell's told BBC Sport the retired boxer will need another operation to replace part of his skull that was removed.

His family were told he may never wake up after he was rushed to hospital with a bleed on the brain after the sparring incident and doctors had to remove a piece of his skull to relieve the pressure on his brain.

The boxer involved in the sparing session with Blackwell, Hasan Karkardi, and the trainer who oversaw it, Liam Wilkins, are currently both suspended by the British Boxing Board of Control.

The board will hold a hearing into the incident this week and is due to meet with the suspended pair to decide on their futures.

Blackwell's former trainer Gary Lockett has since criticised the boxer for getting back in the ring. He told the BBC:

"We thought that was all going very well and while we knew Nick missed boxing, we obviously didn't realise the extent to which he missed it.

He added:

"This is a long, long old road. It isn't like last time where no-one can believe how well he seems or how lucky he has been. "I think we are winning at the moment but it is a long way to go. "Nick has been a fool for what he has done, but we won't stop caring about him because of that and everyone is behind him with his recovery."